Walk The Line: Season One
by Electra126
Summary: Post-Chosen, a Faith Virtual Series. Faith decides to seek out her destiny and finds herself in Las Vegas, which ominously lives up to its description as the City of Sin. Buffy x Faith pairing.
1. Episode 1: Viva Las Vegas

**Walk The Line**

**By**

**Electra**

**Rating: **"R" for this episode.

**Pairing: **Though this is a Faith fic, there may eventually be some subtext and pairing of a Faith/Buffy nature.

**Timeline: **Post-Chosen.

**Summary: **A Faith Virtual Series. Faith decides to seek out her destiny as she was chosen to do.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, nor do I make any money in writing about them.

**A/N: **Since we all know that I can't focus on one fic at a time, here is the Faith virtual series that I've decided to start. Chapters will be posted as episodes, and will be longer than most of my usual chapters are.

I know it's not your standard Fuffy fic, but I'd love for you to give it a try and let me know what you think. :)

* * *

**Episode One: Viva Las Vegas**

Footsteps. Rustling. Labored breathing. He stood with his back against the cool stone wall of the crypt, listening for any of those sounds, but found that he could only make out the sound of his own heart thumping loudly in his chest.

His long leather jacket creaked awkwardly as he turned and looked around the corner, trying desperately to locate his pursuer. He gripped the wooden stake tightly in his hand, ready to make the final plunge at first opportunity.

When at last he heard the faintest snapping of a twig across the way, he dashed out of the shadows with his arm raised . . . and proceeded to run in the opposite direction of the noise.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," he chanted as he ran, a silent prayer to whomever was listening to help him out of his current situation.

He turned to peer over his shoulder, making sure that he wasn't being followed, when his steel-toed boot caught the edge of a granite grave-marker and sent him stumbling. In true acrobatic form, he tucked into a ball and somersaulted forward, easily springing back up onto his feet.

Despite the fact that he was fleeing, he stopped in his tracks and looked to the grave-marker, then looked astonishingly at his upright position.

"I always knew that I was good," he said to himself, a smug look crossing his face.

Only when he heard a grunt in the distance did he remember that he was fleeing for his life. In an instant he began running again, somehow losing his direction after his little show of acrobatics. When he realized that he wasn't sure if he was running toward the exit or deeper into the graveyard, he stopped and braced himself against a tree, hoping to recompose himself.

He stood with his back to the small tree, looking around feverishly for anything that might help him regain his bearings. When he spotted the top of an iron fence he smiled to himself, his cool posture back in place. He took a step away from the tree and toward the fence, only to find himself being held back by a strong hand lifting him up by his collar.

"Where do you think you're going, junior?" The demon asked, making the man seem so small and frail now that he was dangling by the back of his jacket.

"Oh, you know," he began, "I was just going for a stroll. Nice night, fresh air . . . sure is a change from all of those casinos. Did you know that one of every three people smoke in your average casino?" His voice trembled as he spoke, though he tried to act confident.

The demon shook the man, baring his large curved tusks in a menacing way.

"You think I care about casinos, human? Don't try to distract me . . . you came here with weapons to do damage . . . do you mean to damage me, demon hunter?"

"I really can't be considered a 'demon hunter'," the man began, "Giles always tells me to stay out of the fray. I'm much better in a background support role. The kitchen seems to be the place where I'm needed most . . . a crucial role of everyday life is coffee and food. It may seem insignificant, but Buffy and the gang would have been lost without my smiley-face pancakes with bacon hair."

The demon snorted as he laughed.

"Your Giles is incorrect. The role you suit best is . . . dinner."

At that, the demon opened his mouth, letting it grow increasingly wide as he dislocated his jaws to swallow his large meal.

The man began to struggle but it was of no use . . . his head was nearly inside the monstrous jaws now.

"Please don't!" He screamed. "I'm all skin and bones, and I haven't had a bath in a day in a half!"

Just as a large string of demon-saliva ran over the man's sandy-colored hair, causing him to squeal in horror . . . the demon exploded into a million droplets of goo and gel, splattering all over him as he dropped to the ground.

The man immediately removed his slime-covered jacket and tossed it to the side before anxiously looking up to meet his savior. He used his shirt sleeve to remove the goo from his eyes, and finally he made out a figure through his hazy vision.

"Faith?"

* * *

"Andrew?"

Though he hadn't been sure at first through the goo and the grime that blurred his vision, the raspy voice was enough to let him know that he had seen correctly.

"Oh, brave savior!" Andrew said dramatically as he stood up and wrapped his arms around Faith, the goo making a horrible squish noise as his body collided with hers. "I was sure that I'd seen my last sunset until you came along."

Faith stood with her arms hanging limply at her sides, unable to process the events of the prior thirty seconds.

"Please tell me you didn't just hug me with that demon's guts all over you," she said with a grimace on her face, the continuous squishing noises coming from between her and the trembling boy all the answer that she really needed.

Andrew remained silent for a few moments as he realized the severity of his actions.

"It's really more of a terrified cling," he explained as he tried to pry himself away from her body at last.

However, the goo was quickly starting to act as an adhesive and wasn't letting Andrew budge more than an inch or two before he'd snap back against Faith.

"I'm finding myself in a rather . . . sticky situation," Andrew said, the side of his face smashed up against Faith's chest, impairing his speech.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Faith said with a sigh as she began to shake slightly to see if Andrew would slip off. "Two hours in Vegas and I'm already flypaper for freaks."

After a few minutes of useless struggling on both of their parts, Faith finally got frustrated and put her hands on Andrew's shoulders and shoved roughly. A long sticky, squelching noise later, Andrew was tossed to the ground and rolled a few feet until he became stuck to the ground.

He lay there squirming around, trying his best to un-stick himself from the dry grass. Faith watched on in annoyance as she tried to salvage her goo-covered outfit. It seemed pretty hopeless though. Her shirt was stuck to her jacket, her pants were stuck to her boots, and her hair was sticking to her face.

"I don't suppose you'd be able to . . ." Andrew began to ask for help, but stopped when he felt Faith lifting him up by the back of his pants. He got to his feet quickly and tried to brush himself off, the grass making him look like a walking green shag carpet, but his hands stuck to his shirt like he was wearing superglue.

Trying his best not to look scared at what Faith's reaction might be, Andrew blew out a deep breath and steeled himself, finally coming face to face with her.

"So . . ." Andrew began again, unsure of what to say next, ". . . you just got here two hours ago?" At Faith's nod, he continued, "Well, I'm glad to see you've decided to stick around."

He laughed at his own bad attempt at humor, but quickly became quiet again when he saw the glare that Faith gave him.

"I've been here for four days now. Been scoping the place out, getting a feel for the local demon population," he explained, trying to appear as professional and badass as possible. "Giles said this place is like a demon magnet, so I figured that it could use another guardian. That, and . . . when I mentioned that I'd never seen Las Vegas before, Mr. Giles went out and bought me a one-way ticket." He paused to think about it for a moment. "He's really a generous guy."

"Oh yeah, the very best," Faith said gruffly as she bent down to retrieve her goo-covered weapons.

She couldn't help but recall the way that, when she had went to Giles for a bit of guidance after they left Sunnydale, he had basically told her that her life choices were up to her now. That he couldn't tell her where to go or what to do; that she would have to walk the line and see where her destiny led her.

At first she'd thought that he was warning her not to drink and drive, but then it sunk in: he wasn't going to be the one to give her orders anymore. No one would. From thereon in, all of her choices were her own.

It was a true test for Faith. Her past was filled with bad choices from as long back as she could remember. The thought of having to carry on, alone, without anyone pointing her in the right direction . . . well, she wasn't sure that she could pull it off.

The only thing that she was sure of, however, was that she couldn't go down that cold, dark path again. Her chance to do right was now or never. After shaking the feeling of being abandoned yet again, she realized that being alone and choosing her own path was probably exactly what she needed. To see if she could choose to do right on her own.

With that in mind, she had decided to go wherever her feet led her and do . . . whatever it was that she was supposed to be doing.

"Are you planning on staying for awhile then, or are you just passing through?" Andrew asked. "I've been up and down the strip a few times now and I can give you a pretty good tour. The Tournament of Kings at Excalibur is _excellent_," Andrew offered and continued to prattle on and on.

Faith listened at first, but she quickly tuned out of the conversation. A big smirk crept up on her face as Andrew was rambling something about the Blue Man Group at the Venetian. Without hesitation, she drew her arm back, axe in hand, and threw it directly towards Andrew.

He watched her with interest as he saw her raise her arm up, and then he promptly ducked and cowered as the axe came flying at his head. Only when he was covered in a fine layer of dust did he realize that she wasn't, in fact, aiming at him.

Standing up quickly, he looked to Faith, then over his shoulder where a snarling vamp had gone unnoticed by him just a moment earlier before the dust explosion.

Faith smiled, both at her accuracy and at the shocked look on Andrew's face.

"I think I'll . . . stick around awhile," she said, walking casually over to Andrew and picking the axe up from the ground as he stood there speechless, his mouth opening and closing over and over.

She turned around and began to walk towards the exit of the cemetery, her usual strut back in her step.

Andrew shook his head, waking himself from his stupor.

"Do you need a place to stay?" He asked hopefully. "There's a hotel not far from here. They have a little diner with the most delightful apple pie ever, and my bags are already conveniently there."

Faith kept walking, trying her best to make a quick escape.

"It's already paid for. There's cable TV and . . . I'll even let you be in charge of the remote."

Faith stopped walking at that, weighing her options out in her head.

She'd used most of her money on the airfare there, and her funds from Giles hadn't exactly been transferred yet. Unless she wanted to stay alone in some fleabag motel yet again, she really had no other options.

"No Sci-Fi shit, and when the lights go out, you stop talking. Deal?" She asked, peeking over her shoulder for just a second.

"Deal," Andrew said with a nod, then promptly ducked again as the axe came whirling towards his head and he was covered in another shower of vampire dust.

Without hesitation, Andrew ran the last few steps towards Faith shouting "thank you thank you thank you" over and over again until he ran right into her back, colliding into her with a loud, sticky squish-noise.

He sat there pressed against her, his arms flailing about at his sides as he tried to un-stick himself from her yet again.

Faith sighed and crossed her arms across her chest, wondering exactly how she always managed to get herself into such sticky situations.

"Fantastic," she grumbled as she began to make her way towards the exit again, Andrew tagging along on piggyback.

* * *

A short walk and many strange glances later, Faith and Andrew arrived at the hotel that he had mentioned. It was a modest building; two stories tall, big sign out front advertising free cable in every room and a luxurious pool in the courtyard, and a nearly vacant parking lot.

Faith wouldn't have cared if the place was deserted; she liked her privacy, especially when she had thinking to do.

Andrew had talked her ear off nearly the entire journey. She threatened to turn around and bang him into a wall on more than one occasion, but he never relented in his jabbering and she just couldn't bring herself to come through with her threats.

She was, after all, supposed to be walking the walk of the good now.

That didn't stop her, however, from cannon-balling them both right into the 'luxurious pool', which turned out to be little more than a cement hole in the ground. The cold water seemed to do the job; Andrew slipped off of her back and came up to the surface of the water sputtering and complaining about having swimmers ear.

As nice as the cool water was on her sticky body, Faith didn't waste any time in getting out of the pool and asking Andrew for the key to the room. She wanted a nice hot shower more than her suddenly tired body could let on, and the thought of a full night's sleep had her itching to get up to the room already.

The room itself was quite meager; two full beds, a color television bolted down to the chest of drawers it sat on, a bedside table with the obligatory bible stashed in the drawer, and a small bathroom that left very little wiggle room for Faith to peel off her sodden clothing.

With her clothes piled neatly on the closed toilet lid, she climbed into the shower and stood under the hot spray of the water, letting it wash away all of the traces of the evening's festivities. Without even realizing it, it also washed away all of her reservations about Las Vegas being the right spot for her or not. She had only been there for a couple of hours and already she could feel that the place was crawling with all types of unsavory activities and people.

Surely, she'd picked just the right place to make her home.

After realizing that she had forgotten to pick up her bags from the storage locker she'd stowed them away in earlier, she had a near knock-down drag-out argument with Andrew over borrowing a clean t-shirt to sleep in.

When all was said and done, Faith was wandering around the room in a Star Trek t-shirt and an oh-so-fashionable white terrycloth hotel towel tied around her waist.

"This shirt's kinda like . . . Dolce and Gabbana for dweebs, huh?" She asked Andrew automatically earning a scowl from him.

"Mock if you wish, but not all of us have the tush to pull off leather and halter tops."

"That's generally a privilege saved for hot chicks with superpowers," Faith said with a smirk, flopping back onto the bed and pulling the scratchy blankets over her legs. She grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels, happily ignoring Andrew's sighs of disapproval every time she passed something he'd wanted to watch.

Finally, she settled on The Simpsons and leaned back, ready to relax and call it a night. The next day would be a long one for sure, so she wanted to be as well-rested as possible.

Strangely, she was able to ignore the lights and sounds out on the strip, calling her out to experience the town and leave her mark upon it.

She was ready to leave her mark, sure, but not in that way. Not yet.

Not until she'd properly earned it.

A few moments later, Faith's eyes were fluttering, sleep beginning to lull her in its warming embrace.

Andrew, however, had other plans.

"Speaking of hot chicks with superpowers, I wonder how Buffy and Dawn are enjoying Italy. The air, the scenery, the beautiful architecture and the culture," he said wistfully, gazing off as if he had been there a million times before, "I bet they're smitten with it."

Faith opened her eyes and glanced over at him without turning her head.

"Far as I know, B didn't even really wanna go there. She did it for Dawnie, but she told Giles that she wanted to be with him in England. For all we know, she's holed up in an apartment somewhere, throwing a proper Buffy tantrum and boycotting all things Italian," Faith said, unable to help the smile that crept up on her face. "Damn, I bet it'd kill her to boycott pizza. She's a total pizza junkie, hardcore."

"She should consider herself lucky that she's not in England," Andrew said with a look of distaste on his face.

At that, Faith turned toward him and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? Why's that, Andy?"

"Well, for starters, Mr. Giles is so busy trying to reform the Council that he's turned into a big Grumpypants. 'Andrew, stop touching the books', 'Andrew, stop stealing my tweed jackets', 'Andrew, go and fetch us some donuts'. I know I'm not an original member of the gang, but I can do more than clean his office and pick up donuts."

Faith couldn't help but chuckle.

"So, he made you his donut-fetching lap dog. What else?"

"Willow and Kennedy are even worse than Mr. Giles. He gave them a bit of authority in the new council and they just step all over me with their big witch-y and slayer-y boots. They sent me on menial tasks and stuff. Not cool."

Faith grinned, imagining exactly what Kennedy and Willow must have put him through.

"They made you buy their tampons and shit, didn't they?"

Andrew looked uncomfortable, but answered nonetheless. "No matter what part of the world I'm in, the cashier always gives weird looks when I'm sent to buy products of a feminine nature."

Faith laughed, "So you used to buy 'products of a feminine nature' in Sunnydale too, huh?"

Andrew shrugged and looked at the TV. "Well, Kennedy was around for a bit longer than you were, and she's always been just as unpleasant as she is now."

Faith had a good hearty chuckle at that, knowing fully well how Kennedy could get under one's skin. She almost felt bad that Andrew had to put up with her for so long.

"Anyhow," Andrew continued, interrupting Faith's laughter, "Xander left to go and pick up Slayers in Europe and Africa, then Principal Wood left to do the same thing in North America. His first stop was Las Vegas, and when I said that I'd never seen it before, Giles told me I should check it out. I was the one who decided to make it my home though. He said how bad this place is, and I figured that it could use a white-hat here 24-7."

After a brief moment of silence, Faith turned her head back toward the TV and smiled softly.

"And here we are now, two reformed killers, trying to stay on the straight and narrow."

"Yeah," Andrew said, copying Faith's thoughtful gaze as best as he could.

They sat in silence for several minutes, the sound of the quiet TV the only noise in the room. Andrew stole a glance over at Faith and could tell that she was deep in thought. The way that her brow was creased, well . . . he knew that she wasn't having pleasant thoughts or memories.

"Speaking of which . . . how exactly did you end up here?" Andrew asked, hesitating for a moment when he saw Faith snapped from her thoughts. "I mean . . . when we all left LA, Willow was trying to convince you that she could create you a new identity, but you weren't big with the happy on that."

Faith nodded her head, remembering those last few days in LA as a group.

Giles had told her that she needed to walk the line and find her own destiny. Truthfully, she wasn't sure exactly where that left her. Part of her believed that she should be back in jail, as that was where destiny had landed her in the first place.

But then she realized that they had changed the destiny of the world by closing the Hellmouth. In doing that, she reasoned, she had earned herself a new destiny. A new take on life.

One last chance to get it right.

After much uncertainty and hesitation, she finally allowed Willow and Angel, together, to work out a plan to save her from a lifetime of being a fugitive.

Using the records of a girl who had died in Sunnydale just prior to the collapse, Willow and Angel mojo'd it so that it appeared that the girl was supposed to be in prison for the crimes Faith committed, and Faith had never existed within the system.

Tabula Rasa. A clean slate.

It was hard to swallow at first. Faith spent many a day drinking heavily, trying to avoid the thought process where she realized that she'd passed go, she'd collected $200, and someone else had taken her card and landed in jail. Sure, the girl whose identity they stole was dead, but it still affected Faith more than she could explain.

She didn't want to take another life, in any way, shape or form.

Still, she eventually pulled herself together and decided to do what was right. What she was meant to do.

Faith realized that Andrew was waiting for her answer, so she shrugged and tried to act as nonchalant as possible.

"I gave in. Red zapped my records, Angel made me some proper identification so I could have a real life, I took care of some crap that I had to deal with, and I made my way here. So . . . here I am, and here I'll stay."

Andrew suddenly looked excited.

"It's gonna be great. Faith the Vampire Slayer, Andrew her trusted wing man, and the city of sins. Maybe we could get matching jackets or something. I'm thinking black. It shows less dirt."

Faith sat up and raised both of her eyebrows.

"Oh no, little man. I'm here to do my thing, and you're here to do your thing – whatever it is that you do -- and that's the extent of our involvement. I'm gonna find a place, and I'm gonna do what I have to do to get by, and if you ever need . . . I dunno, a beat down or a severe scolding, you come and see me. Otherwise, the days of us being roommates ends tonight."

Andrew began to protest, but Faith held her hand up and stopped him.

"I appreciate you letting me stay here, Andy, I do. I don't appreciate what you did to my clothes, but that's a whole different conversation. The fact is that I work alone, and that's that. Sorry to ruin your plans, buddy, but that's the final word."

She turned the bedside lamp off and rolled onto her side, her back toward Andrew who sat looking put off on the other bed. She mumbled a quick good night and anxiously pointed to the turned-off lamp when Andrew began to object.

He flopped back onto the bed with a huff, feeling let down but not completely hopeless in their current situation.

* * *

Faith woke to the sound of the door opening and the bright sunlight shining into the room and directly onto her face. She grumbled loudly and pulled the blankets over her head, quieting down only when she heard the door close.

Andrew's chipper whistling filled the otherwise quiet room and Faith briefly considered tossing him over the balcony and into the pool, but then the smell of coffee filtered through her nose and perked her up slightly.

"Do I smell coffee?" She asked, peeking her nappy head out from under the blankets.

"French roast, freshly brewed," came the all too chipper reply from Andrew. "From the diner downstairs. I tried to wake you up so you could get some breakfast, but you hit me in sensitive places so I left without you," Andrew said, rubbing his still-sore behind.

"Sorry about that. I'm not really a morning person," she said as she reached out for the proffered cup of coffee. She took a small sip and the hot liquid nearly scalded her tongue. "Hot damn!"

Andrew rolled his eyes and fetched the ice bucket, then lifted the cap from the paper cup and slid a piece of ice into it without much thought. Faith gave him a small smile.

"You're okay, Andy ol' boy."

Andrew took that opportunity to toss a box of donuts onto her bed, hoping to win her over even more.

Faith caught the box and peeked inside, her eyes lighting up immediately.

"You're better than okay, buddy. You're top notch, I'll tell ya."

Andrew smiled proudly at his donut fetching skills and sat down on the edge of his bed, facing toward Faith.

"I also picked up this newspaper for you. I took the liberty of circling some of the apartments and places for rent. The red circles are places I can find, and the black circles are ones that I'm not sure of. I figure that we can get dressed and head out; we might be able to check out quite a few of those before tonight's patrol."

Faith looked up at him, a jelly donut hanging from her mouth and an eyebrow raised.

"We?" She asked, her voice muffled.

"I hate to bring this up, but the jelly donut was actually for me," he said, staring at the jelly donut.

Faith held the box up to him, "Then take one."

He shook his head. "You don't quite understand. There was only one jelly. It was for me. My jelly."

Faith furrowed her eyebrows together. "You go to get donuts and only get one jelly? Dude, what's wrong with you? No wonder Giles shipped you out. You're gonna need some serious donut-picking training if this is gonna work out."

Andrew smiled excitedly.

"Does this mean we get to have matching jackets?"

Faith chuckled and finished her donut, swallowing loudly much to the chagrin of Andrew.

"No, it means I'm gonna let you be my tour guide. Think you can handle that?"

Andrew stood up and puffed his chest out proudly.

"I'll be the best tour guide you ever had!"

* * *

Andrew read aloud from the newspaper, his voice muffled, "This spacious two bedroom apartment comes with a full bathroom, walk in kitchen, storage space, and a private 2nd floor entry."

He lowered the paper to reveal his shirt up over his nose, his fingers holding his nostrils closed tightly. Faith was doing the exact same thing as she stood in the middle of the barren and dirty apartment, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You sure you got the right place?" She asked, unable to believe that the shithole they were standing in was the place from the ad.

"I'm sure," he said. "Kind of funny that they never mentioned that it's above a Thai restaurant."

"Yeah, and that the garbage dumpster is right outside the window, baking in the nice hot sun all day long."

"And that spacious means cramped and uninhabitable," Andrew continued, looking around the place distastefully.

Faith sighed and kicked a doorjamb that was laying on the floor. It smashed into the wall and made a large hole.

"This is the fourth place we've been in, Andy. Tell me they're gonna start getting better."

"Actually, they seem to keep getting worse," he said with a frown. "Maybe we should try a different newspaper. Or a different town."

Though a bit discouraged, Faith was determined to make this work.

"Nah, we're all good." She grabbed the newspaper from Andrew's hand and looked it over, noticing that only black circles remained. "Okay, so . . . new plan. We head to the store and get a handy little map and do a bit of exploring. I'll pick up the money Giles wired me at Western Union, then we can get some dinner and check out these other places. It'll work out . . . I can feel it. If not, we camp out at the hotel for a few more days until I find something. Not a big deal."

* * *

"Well," Andrew began, "I suppose that it's workable." He looked around at the mostly open rooftop, his sneakers sticking to the melting tar on the roof.

Faith turned at him and glared.

"You're kidding me, right?" She asked, her arms spread wide to indicate the space around her. "When the ad says, 'Spacious one-bedroom with balcony', you'd think that they didn't mean, yunno . . . a fucking rooftop with a utility shed on it."

Andrew looked around and shrugged. "Maybe if we utilized some tents and tarps . . ."

"Oh, shut up," she said, her frustration clearly evident. "Yunno, I was trying to see the bright side of things. I stayed positive through the garbage-smelling place, and the moldy basement place, and the place with the snake in the bathtub, but this . . . this is too fucking much."

"On the bright side," Andrew said, "there's only one more place to check out, and according to the map, it's pretty close by. On the bad side, all of the other places in the newspaper are way more than we could probably afford, and that's if we had jobs."

Faith sighed dramatically as she sat down on an upside-down bucket.

And as if her day wasn't going badly enough, the bucket cracked and she ended up on her ass on the melty-tar roof. Not knowing exactly what was the right thing and what was the wrong thing to do or say, Andrew walked over and after hesitating for a moment, sat down next to Faith on the squishy tar.

Faith looked at him in disbelief but couldn't help but chuckle at him.

"You're a putz." She unstuck herself from the tar and stood up, offering a hand to Andrew who graciously accepted it with a large smile.

"Come on," she said as she walked toward the stairwell. "Only one last place. How bad can it be?"

* * *

Before they had stopped at the last place, Andrew and Faith made their way into a small diner along the way. They got the dinner that Faith had promised him, and she even let him get the jelly donut he had missed at breakfast time. It was quickly getting dark outside, so she excused herself and ran to the Western Union place next door to collect the bit of money that Giles had promised her.

He knew that she needed something to get her new life started, and he had promised to use his own funds to help her out. As much as she didn't want to accept a hand-out, she knew that she really didn't have any other options.

Using her fresh ID from Angel, Faith collected the $3,500 from Giles, along with a telegram that he had sent with the money. It vaguely read:

Back-salaries being paid to all employees since date of . . . hire. _Stop_.

Funds being diverted into private account. _Stop._

Contact me for further details. _Stop._

Faith was pretty puzzled by the message, so she immediately hit up the payphone in the diner when she stepped back in.

Of course, getting a collect international phone call in the middle of the night wasn't the best way to approach Giles, but Faith figured he'd forgive her this once.

Basically, he explained that the original council had been withholding funds from Buffy and Faith. In the 1980's, after a slayer or two decided they'd rather have a paying job, the council had decided to pay the slayers an annual salary. However, they had shamelessly denied that to both Buffy and Faith on the count that their watchers hadn't known about the promised stipend.

As it was, Faith stood to collect $ 25,000 per year for the five years that she had been a slayer, despite the fact that she had been comatose and in prison for most of those years. She knew that she didn't deserve it, but she figured that . . . this was Giles' way of telling her that yes, she was still a slayer, and that yes, she still had a job to do, if she was willing.

Besides, with $ 150,000 in her pocket, well . . . she didn't have to worry about getting a crappy apartment or trying to clean the goo from her leather jacket.

Faith was barely able to believe Giles, who told her that Buffy had accepted her back-salary as well. Even though Giles had told her the account information and warned her not to be foolish with the money, she was sure that there had to be a catch. That it was too good to be true.

After hanging up with Giles, she decided that she wasn't going to tell Andrew about the money, and that she, herself, wasn't even going to think about it. As far as she was concerned, it didn't exist. At least, not yet it didn't.

With a slight hop in her step, Faith went and fetched Andrew and let him lead her to the last place on their list.

Almost immediately, Faith regretted the decision to go and see the last place. She and Andrew walked down a long dark street, so far from the Vegas strip that they couldn't even hear any traffic. The street was filled with old buildings that were in shambles, some with plywood up over the windows. It looked as it if was almost deserted, but by the lights that shone in several of the windows and the few cars that were parked carelessly against the curb, Faith knew otherwise.

Andrew was busy holding the map up in front of his face, not even looking where he was walking. Faith had to hold his elbow and guide him around manholes and cracks in the blacktop so that he didn't hurt himself.

However, she was sure that if this place turned out to be worse than the others, she would hurt Andrew herself.

"24C, 24C, 24C," Faith said impatiently as she scanned the fronts of the buildings, looking for an address. "Andrew, I don't see any fucking 24C's. I see . . .513, and 517, and . . . No Trespassing, but I don't see any fucking 24C's."

"The map says that we take a left at the diner, and follow the road down, just like we did," he said confused, not really able to make heads or tails of the map but unwilling to share that with Faith.

Faith was about to give Andrew a good smack on the back of his head, but she caught a movement in the corner of her eye. A man walking into one of the abandoned buildings.

Suddenly, she felt a whirl of tingles going up and down her back. She smirked, knowing fully well that it wasn't a man that entered the building, but a vampire.

"You keep on checking that map, Andy," Faith said, giving him a pat on the back as she made her way toward the building.

She slowly made her way up the walkway that led to the door, pulling her stake out of her inner pocket and gripping it anxiously. With a grin on her face, she strutted into the building, her swagger full of cockiness and certainty.

However, she wasn't prepared for the ten or more vamps that lay strewn around the front room amongst the debris and dirt.

"Oh, don't tell me that you guys are here for the apartment too," she said, trying not to sound uneasy at all. "How embarrassing, us all showing up here at the same time."

The vampires looked around at one another, not one of them exactly sure what she was getting at. Finally one of them stepped forward in game-face, snarling and smirking.

"I didn't know we were getting dinner delivered, boys."

Another vamp spoke up from an old beat-up sofa.

"I dunno, boss . . . she kind of smells like a dumpster at a Thai place."

Faith frowned, sure that she didn't stink.

"I'll have you know that I'm lean, mean, and 100 delicious, boys." She ran her hands over her chest and down her body, trying to look as appetizing as possible.

A vamp took that as an opportunity and lashed out at her, not noticing the stake that appeared in front of his chest just before he impaled himself on it. He exploded into a million pieces, causing all of the other vampires sit up in alarm.

"And for the record," Faith stated, wiping the dust from her jacket, "not one of you is gonna get a taste."

Before she had the opportunity to get into a proper stance, all of the vampires leapt at her, fangs bared. Faith did her best to keep her balance, using the momentum of two of the vampires to stake them easily.

Two of the vampires ran out of the building and into the night, instantly realizing that they didn't want to die. They ran right by an oblivious Andrew, who was mumbling something about 'maybe taking a right instead of a left' as his face stayed hidden behind the large, crumpled map.

Faith grinned cockily, the numbers looking less scary around her now. Three vamps dusted, two running for their undead lives . . . she could easily handle it.

Andrew stood with the map in both hands, completely ignorant to the noises of the scuffle going on right inside the building next to him. He spun the map a bit to the right, and then upside down as he looked at it puzzled.

Faith took that opportunity to come flying out of the door and tumbling down the sidewalk, landing just a few feet in front of Andrew. Without so much as a peep, she was back on her feet and charging back into the building, eyes wild and body charged up with slayer rage.

There was no stopping her now. She was in the zone. Since they had woken all of the slayers using the scythe, she felt ten times stronger. Like nobody could take her, even on a bad day. From outside the building, the sounds of the scuffle got quieter and quieter as

vamp after vamp met the pointy end of Faith's stake. When her stake splintered into several pieces as she was fighting the last vamp, Faith decided to improvise. With a loud heave, she lifted him into the air and impaled him on the leg of a table that had been sat upside down.

Just as the vamp exploded into a cloud of dust, Andrew came in, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Whew, sure is dusty in here," he said, looking around the messy place. "Well, he continued, "I think I figured it out. You see, I was holding the map at the wrong angle. Upside-down, actually. We're supposed to be across town, back by the first apartment. This black circle should have been a red circle. So, off we go, I guess."

He began walking toward the open door, taking caution not to step on anything that might puncture his tar-covered sneaker.

Faith stood amongst the rubble, taking a good hard look at the place.

"Yunno what, Andy? I think you got it right," she said as she continued scoping the place out. "This is the place. This is where we're gonna live."

Andrew froze, then turned slowly around. He glanced around the messy room and then back to Faith.

"If we're casting votes, I vote for the rooftop place. It could be cozy."

Faith shook her head, a small smile on her face.

"Nope, you're outvoted two to one, Andrew. This is the place."

Andrew frowned.

"Two to one? Why do you get two votes? I want two votes."

Faith smiled and leaned against a wall, still looking around the place. First, it needed to be emptied out. Then, it needed a serious overhaul. But from what she could see, it meant that they would have their own private building with plenty of room for . . . whatever it was that they needed.

Just as she was beginning to relax, Faith heard a loud noise from another room. Andrew made a little squeak noise and clung to Faith's arm, earning him an amused look.

Slowly, Faith made her way toward the closed door of the room, her stake in one hand, and Andrew still clinging tightly to the other. As quietly as possible, she pushed the door back to see a disheveled kitchen with lots of cupboards, a nice long countertop, and a very angry looking Anya sticking part way through it as if she wasn't solid.

Faith and Andrew looked at her with wide eyes.

"Well, are you both going to stand there gawking or are you going to give me a hand?"

-Roll Credits-

TBC


	2. Episode 2: The Powers That Be Confusing

**Episode Two****: The Powers That Be Confusing**

_Previously on Walk the Line:_

_Slowly, Faith made her way toward the closed door of the room, her stake in one hand and Andrew still clinging tightly to the other. As quietly as possible, she pushed the door back to see a disheveled kitchen with lots of cupboards, a nice long countertop, and a very angry looking Anya sticking part way through it as if she wasn't solid._

_Faith and Andrew looked at her with wide eyes._

"_Well, are you both going to stand there gawking or are you going to give me a hand?"_

* * *

Andrew leaned in closer to Faith, both unable to take their gaze away from the spectacle before them.

"I think the exhaustion from walking all day in the desert heat may be taking its toll on me," he said in a hushed tone, blinking his eyes hard. "Maybe this is just a mirage, and maybe a jelly donut and glass of cool skim milk would make me feel better."

"You'd think that surviving a particularly violent and deadly apocalypse would make a certain someone grow a pair," Anya said as she looked at Andrew, still struggling to free herself from the confines of the rotted countertop.

Faith looked from Anya to Andrew, who was clinging tightly to her bicep.

"I can't be sure on this, but I don't think that mirages insult people," Faith said before pulling Andrew's fingers free from their death grip around her arm.

Andrew merely wrapped his arms around himself, his gaze still focused on Anya.

"You'd be surprised. I've received insults from the oddest of places. Getting one from the Anya-mirage almost makes me feel nostalgic of times passed," he explained, letting one of his hands wander to an old broomstick that rested up against the dilapidated wall.

"I'm not a mirage," Anya half-heartedly defended as she continued to wriggle around in the countertop.

"The kid actually has a point," Faith said after a moment, turning her full attention to Anya. Slayer mode was in full effect. "I've seen stranger things. The Mayor had a late-night visit with me in B's bedroom not too long ago. Couldn't touch him even if I'd wanted to."

"Can we focus less on your ventures into sexual deviance with the elderly and more on getting me out of this counter? I . . ." Anya said, but paused as a slight wooshing noise sounded throughout the room. She looked from Faith to Andrew, who was busy poking the broomstick through her non-corporeal form. "May I help you?!" She gasped, offended and frustrated.

Andrew stopped waving the broomstick around and rested it back against the wall, dusting his hands off on his jacket as he looked to Faith again.

"See?" He said, a smug look on his face. "Mirage."

"Or possibly The First," Faith said, her gaze still fixed on Anya, hardness filling her soft brown eyes.

"Oh, sweet leaping Jesus," Anya said exasperatedly. "I'm not a mirage, and I'm certainly not The First. He's off in some vacant corner of the universe with his tail between his non-existent legs, licking his wounds. I think it's safe to say that we won't be hearing from him for a while."

"Then what are you?" Faith cut in quickly, unwilling to play any games with what could be a demon or worse. "We all saw you back in that high school, dead as a doornail, and I'm pretty sure zombies can't afford airfare, so . . ." Faith trailed off, waiting for Anya to explain, but Anya just looked back at her in frustration. "This is where you tell me who you are and what you're doing in my kitchen."

Anya was about to speak, but instead looked around the decrepit room, a look of mock horror on her face.

"This is your kitchen, Faith? And here I was thinking you had better taste than that." At Faith's glare, Anya rolled her eyes and continued. "I'm not a mirage, and I wouldn't be caught dead as a zombie. I can barely eat a steak without this horrible human conscience playing up on me. I'm a ghost, or as I prefer to be called – living impaired."

"And why are you here?" Faith asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm your liaison to the Powers That Be," Anya stated matter-of-factly.

"No, why are you _here?_" Faith asked again, indicating their surroundings. "In my cupboards," she added with a half-grin.

"That's a perfectly logical question, to which I respond . . ." Anya paused and furrowed her brow, "well, I honestly don't know. One minute I'm sunning myself on a big fluffy cloud, and the next I'm stood here waist deep in rotting particle board, hoping that a giant rat doesn't come along and eat my arm."

"Actually, we're in Nevada," Andrew interrupted. "I'd be much more concerned about snakes and reptiles."

"Well that's much more reassuring!" Anya griped as she looked down nervously. "May I please leave the cupboard now?"

Faith decided to trust what truly appeared to be Anya – or some crazy form of her – for the moment and stepped forward, offering her a helping hand. The help was all for naught though, as Faith's hand passed through Anya just as the broom had a few moments before.

"Yeah, about that . . ." Faith began, pulling back her hand.

"Oh, penis," Anya said with a sigh. She struggled a few more times before closing her eyes and concentrating, though on what Faith and Andrew weren't certain.

Before they could ask what she was doing, Anya shimmered out of the cupboard and into a thousand little glittery particles that dissipated into the dusty atmosphere. Moments later, a large clatter was heard below them.

"Ack, a lizard!" Anya screeched from the previously undiscovered basement.

Faith stood and looked down at the dirty floor boards with an eyebrow raised while Andrew looked over at her and shrugged.

"At least she's out of the cupboard."

* * *

Faith managed to turn over a couple of pieces of old furniture while Anya practiced shimmering up to the main floor with Andrew cheering her on. She looked around and gauged the building, making notes of everything that needed to be done to make it habitable.

All of the old furniture, shelving, debris, and god knew what else needed to be removed. The walls needed to be scrubbed from ceiling to floor and some dry-walling probably needed to be done on the areas that were punched through with the rafters exposed. A few coats of paint, some new wiring and lighting, and a whole lot of new furniture and some serious TLC could actually make it a livable place.

"Andrew," Faith called out. "I'm gonna need you to get on the horn and find out who owns this property and how much it's listed for. With the state that it's in, I'm hopin' we're gonna get the bargain to end all bargains."

Andrew looked distastefully around the dusky room, a grimace on his face.

"Are we sure that this is the place?" he asked.

"Completely," Faith stated confidently. "I was scoping it out while you were busy with the rah-rah sis boom bah's. There's four bedrooms upstairs, a common living space, an office, a den, and a full kitchen and bath. You know how much we'd have to pay for this if it was on the good side of town?"

"But I'm sure that the places on the good side of town have solid walls and sunlight," he griped. "Also a point is that they're on the actual good side of town."

"It's not up for discussion, okay? You don't like it, you're welcome to be on your merry way at any time."

"Fine," Andrew stated, pulling out his cell phone. "But let it be known that I'm doing this under protest. I still think the roof shed could be nice."

He made his way back into the kitchen for some quiet, careful not to touch anything along the way.

"You could hide his body in that god-awful basement and no one would ever know," Anya stated casually as she practiced leaning against a wall, trying her best not to fall through it.

"Yeah, but I'd know. He'd start to get all ripe after a while and I'd have to move again," Faith answered back just as casually as she took a seat on an old wooden chair she'd turned upright a few minutes before. "So tell me," she began, "how's a ghost like you end up with an ex-con like me?"

"Short straw, I guess," Anya said as she made her way over. "Wait, I'm probably supposed to feign happiness. Just luck, I guess!" she changed her tone quickly.

It was lost on Faith.

"You here to be my babysitter? Make sure big bad Faith doesn't go all psycho and start killing people again?" Faith asked almost bitterly.

"Your perceptiveness is sorely lacking. I've already told you that I'm your liaison to the Powers That Be. I'm not sure what the point is yet, and I'm still rattled by the giant man-eating lizard, but I'm fairly certain that they think you're on the right path. They told me to keep you on it and to let you know that they're on your side."

"But why?" Faith asked, narrowing her eyes. "They weren't big with the helping me out when I was having a crisis of mental sanity a couple years back. I mean, don't get me wrong – I'm hella glad that they seem to be on Team Faith; I just don't know why they're bettin' on me now."

Anya tried her best to sit down on the chair next to Faith, but she started to slip through it so she shimmered out at the very last moment. Faith watched as she appeared back in the room in a cloud of shimmering light.

"Dammit," Anya grumbled. "Maybe they finally realized that they need someone who's going to continue fighting the good fight, and with Buffy retired, you're their girl now."

Faith thought about it for a few moments. Sure, she could be offended by the fact that she was runner up to Buffy Summers yet again, but more than that she felt grateful for being given the opportunity to set things right.

"Guess I should be flattered to be chosen next in line after B. She's kinda amazing at the slayer stuff, at least when she's not busy trying to kick my ass," she said with a quiet chuckle.

"Yes, well, whatever their reasoning, the Powers are backing you. You've chosen your own path now and they're thrilled with your decision. I . . ." Anya began, but stopped and clamped her hands over her ears. "What the hell is that?" she yelled.

Faith raised an eyebrow and looked around the silent room, then back at Anya.

"What the hell is what?" she asked.

"The chiming and church bells and harps! It's awful, please make it stop!"

Even with her slayer hearing, Faith wasn't picking up on the faintest of sounds except those of Andrew wheeling and dealing with a real estate agent via his cell phone.

"Think it's all in your head, An," Faith said, watching as Anya became more and more frustrated. "Maybe it's like the Bat signal."

"Perfect. First lizards, now bats. Can't a dead girl get a break here?!" she yelled, looking up towards the ceiling. "I find this highly unamusing!" She closed her eyes and concentrated and was gone in a mist of shimmering light once again.

"My! People come and go so quickly here!" Andrew said excitedly as he walked back into the room just as Anya disappeared. "I've always wanted an opportunity to say that."

"Tell me you didn't just quote the Wizard of Oz," Faith said evenly.

"I . . . didn't. Soooo, what info did Anya give you?" he asked, changing the topic quickly.

Faith narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before chuckling softly and shaking her head.

"Not much besides the fact that the basement is a good place to hide a body." At Andrew's slight step back, she continued. "She doesn't know much more than we do. Guess the Powers That Be decided they like my decision to keep on fighting the fight, so they sent me Anya as a liaison."

Andrew thought about it for a moment.

"If they wanted to really help, they could have sent a mystical artifact that smites evil on contact." He paused, a goofy smile appearing on his face. "That would've been cool."

"Yeah, well I got Anya instead. She doesn't smite evil but she can make a mean piece of toast. Still, you keep an eye out for that artifact though and let me know if you find one, got it Lara Croft?"

"It's a deal," Andrew stated with a proud smile, holding out his hand for Faith to shake.

He pulled it back quickly, however, as a flash of light appeared between them and a frantic Anya materialized. She did her best to steady herself but stumbled backward and landed partway through the dusty old couch.

"You should see if that whole shimmering deal comes with a manual," Faith suggested with a grin.

"There are sarcastic comments to be made, but they'll have to wait until later," Anya began as she struggled to stand. "The Powers . . . they were calling me, hence the annoying orchestra in my head. There's a girl in trouble, a slayer. The Council sent one of their representatives to Las Vegas to retrieve her and bring her to Los Angeles, but they were ambushed at her house and they're missing."

Faith sat forward as soon as she heard the last part. A Council representative. Giles was rebuilding the council nearly from scratch. If he had someone helping him now, it was someone already involved in the slaying game. Likely someone she knew.

Hell, maybe Buffy had changed her mind and decided to stay in the game, just doing something less hands on than actually slaying.

"Who? Who did they send?" Faith asked.

Anya looked Faith directly in the eyes and momentarily stopped her attempts to free herself from the couch.

"Robin."

"Fuck," Faith grumbled as she stood up. "Dude nearly died like three times in the hospital and they're already throwing him into the game? Is Giles really that desperate for help? What the fuck is B thinking about retiring right now?"

"All good questions, but this isn't about Buffy or Robin, this is about Sara. She's a very special girl, Faith. She has psychic abilities in addition to her new slayer powers. The Powers think that a Biyalek demon clan has abducted them so they can take advantage of her power and abilities."

"Where is she?"

"Well, duh, she's missing. They'd like you to find her." Anya said matter-of-factly.

Faith tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at Anya.

"Where was she in Vegas before she went missing? I need a starting point, something to go on."

"Henderson, about 25 minutes from here. They knocked her parents out and when they came to, their house was ransacked and Sara and Robin were gone. They've already notified the police, but we need someone aware of the situation to go and find them."

"I'm on it," Faith said as she turned around toward the door. "Andrew, get on the phone with Giles and find out everything you can. Call me on my cell when you get an actual address, I'm gonna make my way in that direction."

"Okay," Andrew said with a nod. "But . . . how are you going to get there?"

Faith stopped mid-step and dropped her shoulders.

"Shit," she said. "Think cabs come to this part of town at this time of day?"

"I don't think they come to this part of town at _any_ time of day," Andrew mumbled under his breath.

"I can help," Anya chimed in from her spot within the couch. "I can open a portal. Or, at least I've been told that I can. It's all very new."

"But you've never tried it before?" Faith said as she turned and walked back into the room.

"Technically, no. But I think I'm getting _very_ good at the shimmering. Portal jumping should be a piece of cake."

Anya's enthusiasm was lost on a skeptical Faith, who raised an eyebrow and looked down at Anya's very non-corporeal body sticking partway through the couch.

"Okay, okay!" Anya exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I suck at the shimmering and I highly doubt the portal jumping would go without a hitch. You could end up in Siberia or with your arm attached to your ass."

"I'd have a genuine problem with anything attached to my ass," Faith added.

"And I don't blame you for that. It's a lovely ass," Anya stated with a sympathetic nod. "Maybe I'm just not cut out for this job. The Powers That Be should send you a replacement liaison. A helper monkey or something. I'm much better at jobs that involve money and counting money."

As much as Faith was having doubts about Anya and her ability to safely get her damn near anywhere, Anya had struck a chord within her when she began talking about replacements. Way back when, Faith was supposed to be a replacement. Kendra wasn't supposed to die. Maybe Kendra would have done a better job at fighting the good fight.

She decided that Anya deserved a chance to prove herself.

"Well, forget about money for now and focus on getting' up. I've gotta get to Sara and Wood, and you're the only way that's gonna happen," Faith stated firmly.

"No pressure, right?" Anya asked sarcastically as she finally managed to struggle free from the couch. Standing on wobbly legs, she came face to face with Faith. "Why do you have faith in me all of the sudden?" she asked.

Faith simply shrugged.

"Powers picked you for a reason. And besides, if I grow an arm from my ass, it's just one more that I can beat up the bad guys with, right?"

"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming," Anya said, gathering her senses. "But if anything goes wrong, I don't want any threats made my way. Corporeal or not, it's not pleasant to be threatened by a slayer."

"Deal," Faith said, readying herself for whatever might happen.

Anya closed her eyes and held out her hand, her face scrunched up in concentration. Nothing happened for several seconds and Faith was pretty sure that it was going to be a bust, but that's when she noticed a swirling light start to form across the room.

"Is it working?" Anya asked, her eyes still closed.

"Yup, keep it up," Faith replied.

A few short moments later, the portal was fully open and swirling, ready to do its job. Andrew stepped forward, ready to go with Faith, but he was held back with a firm hand on his chest.

"Nuh-uh, not this time," Faith said. "I need you to stay here and call Giles like I asked. The more info we have, the better. I'll be in contact."

Andrew looked slightly disappointed at being left out of the action yet again, but he knew better than to question Faith when she was in slayer mode.

"You ready?" Faith asked, looking over at Anya.

"Oh sure, this is my punishment. Make me go through my own portal of the unknown," Anya griped.

"Fair's fair," Faith said with a grin. "Let's go."

Anya and Faith approached the portal with caution before stepping through it, eyes clenched tightly. They came stumbling out through the other side, Faith landing in a heap in a small flowerbed while Anya landed gracefully this time.

Faith began to stand up but suddenly found herself on her knees, clutching her stomach as she vomited loudly behind a small shrub.

Anya looked on with distaste and even took a step back as Faith stood up, wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve.

"Never again," Faith grumbled, trying to get her bearings straight. She peeked over her shoulder and down at her ass, relieved to see that there was no arm or other appendage attached there.

"Be happy that we're not in Siberia. I think we're actually at the right place and it only cost us your lunch." Anya looked behind the small shrub. "And dinner. Jesus, Faith, how much can one woman eat?"

Faith ignored Anya's question as she surveyed the small ranch house, looking for confirmation that they were in the right place.

"How do we know that this is her house?" Faith asked, brows furrowed.

"I'd guess by the frantic looking parents being questioned by the nice police officer," Anya stated the obvious as she looked toward the front yard from the back of the house.

Faith followed Anya's gaze and saw two LVPD cars with two officers searching the front yard while another two talked to Sara's parents. She crept back into the darkness of the back yard, hoping that their entrance hadn't been noticed.

"Look for clues before they make their way back here," Anya began. "Willow made your record disappear so you have no reason to hide."

"Force of habit," Faith said evenly as she stood up straight and started looking around.

Immediately she noticed marks in the grass just next to the stone patio. There were two lines – likely from heels being dragged – and they led out back through a fence. She followed the trail carefully, ignoring Anya's attempts at small talk.

When she walked through the gate and into the attached alley, she heard something faintly. She focused her hearing, away from Anya's voice, away from the noise of the police radios out front, away from the sound of a truck passing by on the next street over. That's when she realized it was breathing. Labored, shallow breathing. Someone was hiding behind the garbage cans ten steps away from her.

Reaching into her jacket, she pulled out a sharpened stake and gripped it firmly in her hand, her jaw clenched tightly. She held up her hand to Anya who got the idea and stopped her rambling.

Slowly but surely, Faith approached the plastic bins and held her breath, ready to find out just who was hiding behind them. She exhaled loudly as she saw a pair of scared brown eyes looking up at her from a seated position.

"Fuck!" she exclaimed loudly as she looked down at Robin, barely conscious with blood running out the corner of his mouth and from a large gash across his abdomen.

"Hey," Robin said weakly, immediately wincing and clutching his stomach.

"What happened?" Faith asked, falling to her knees to check him over.

"I lost the girl," he mumbled. "Demons, Biyaleks . . . too many. Sara ran, I fought them . . . they got her." He started to close his eyes, but Faith grabbed his face and made him look at her.

"Where did they take her?"

Just as Robin was straining to answer her, Faith's cell phone rang from inside her jacket. She pulled it out and answered it quickly, hoping not to draw the attention of the cops out front.

"Yeah?"

"It's Andrew. Mr. Giles says she's at 132 Fort Stanwick Road and that Robin hasn't checked in for the last three hours."

"Yeah, I'm here and I found him. He's hurt. Second we hang up, you get on the phone and send an ambulance here. There are cops out front so I'm gonna sneak out the back way. The Biyalek's got the girl and I can't stick around here. Did Giles give any information about the demons or where I can find them?" Faith asked.

"The coven can't pinpoint their hive exactly, but they have it narrowed down to a small warehouse district in the old section of Vegas. They like to stay near humans so they can, well . . . eat them."

"Fantastic," Faith grumbled. "The girl's been abducted by cannibalistic demons that are gonna steal her powers and chow down afterwards. Any other info?"

"No," Andrew answered quickly. "Except that Mr. Giles is on his way and should be here in a few hours."

"What? Why?" Faith asked, confused. "I don't need a babysitter. Call him back and tell him I'm on it and not to get his tweed underwear all bunched up. I'll be in touch."

She quickly closed her cell phone and placed it back in her pocket before turning to face Robin again.

"Quit losing so much blood, you're gonna be pale as me soon enough," Faith attempted to joke, but her smile instantly faded when she saw just how badly he was doing. "Hey, an ambulance is on its way. You're gonna be right as rain."

Robin smiled weakly, trying his best not to pass out.

"Pretty sure I've heard that whole song and dance before," he quipped. "Are you going?"

Faith nodded her response.

"I've gotta find Sara before they do anything to her. She's important."

"I get it," Robin said. "Go fast, she's been gone a while."

Faith nodded again and squeezed his hand before standing up and facing Anya.

"I need another portal." When Anya opened her mouth to speak, Faith cut her off. "I know I said never again, and I mean it. Just as soon as I get a car. But for now, I need you to get me to that warehouse district."

"I'll get you as close to them as I can," Anya said, oddly serious and without any snarky comments. She closed her eyes and focused again, the portal appearing much quicker this time around.

"You're gettin' better at this," Faith commented with a small smile.

"Yes, I am. Maybe we can discuss a wage for my services." As Anya finished speaking, she covered her ears and looked up to the sky as the loud chorus sounded in her head again. "Fine! No wages!"

Faith shook her head and walked toward the portal, stopping only when she noticed Anya following her.

"I need you to stay here with Robin until the ambulance gets here. If he takes a turn for the worse, get in touch with Andrew."

With that said, she turned around and walked through the portal, leaving Anya standing there with a frustrated look on her face.

"Yes, I'll just stay here with the bleeding man that I can't touch or help in any way," she yelled to the now closing portal. "I'm sure that Verizon works via ghostly telepathy. Don't worry, it's fine!"

She turned back and walked towards Robin, stopping along the way when she saw something silver and shiny on the ground.

"A nickel," she exclaimed happily and bent down to pick it up. When her fingers passed through the small coin again and again, she grumbled, "This is just starting to get ridiculous now."

* * *

Faith landed with a loud thud in the middle of an alley, her fall cushioned by a heap of packing boxes. She rolled to her side and off of them just in time to lose a bit more of her lunch. And dinner.

Standing up with one arm clutching her stomach and the other wiping over her mouth, she grumbled,

"Never again."

She made her way through the warehouse and into a nearby alley as quietly as she could, focusing her slayer senses on anything that wasn't quite human. There were a couple rats scampering around a makeshift shelter made by a homeless person. When she noticed that the shelter – empty of everything but a few seemingly out of place gallons of water -- showed slight signs of a struggle, she knew she was in the right neighborhood.

The demons had made the bum into a midnight snack.

Staring at the shelter with a hint of regret, Faith was pulled from her thoughts by a loud ruckus in one of the nearby warehouses. She made her way down the alley and toward the noise, and also toward the familiar tingle in the back of her neck.

_Demons_.

The warehouse before her was large and dilapidated. It had sheet metal walls painted brown with a row of broken windows high up on the north side. She climbed onto a dumpster and peeked through the windows, careful to stay hidden in the shadows.

Inside she saw about eight or nine Biyalek demons wearing robes, standing in a half circle around a large table. A young girl, about 17 or 18, was strapped down to the table and looked to be heavily sedated or plain out cold. The demons looked on and laughed in the most creepy way that Faith could imagine.

From a room off to the side, a demon wearing a different robe from the rest approached, carrying a large knife and a glass jar. He put the items down on the table and pulled a penlight from within his robe. Pulling back the girl's eyelids, he shone the light into her eyes and smiled, obviously happy with her sedate condition.

Faith looked down at her watch and noticed that it was nearly midnight – high time for any ritual to be performed. She hopped down from her perch and started looking for a way to get into the warehouse.

She didn't know what she was going to do once she got in there, but she knew she only had about three minutes by her watch to figure it all out.

When she reached a door shut tight by a chain, she grabbed the chain and pulled and twisted at it, making the steel loops crack under pressure. Just as she went to remove it from the handle, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned back just in time to get backhanded across the face, sending her flying into the side of the shoddy metal building.

The walls shook and creaked, no doubt catching the attention of the demons within. Faith didn't have time to worry about that, though; a particularly buff Biyalek demon charged at her, kicking her in the side of the head and disorienting her. As she lay struggling on the ground, he picked her up by the front of her shirt and held her high in the air as she helplessly struggled.

"I smelled you before you even approached the door, Slayer," he grunted, leering dangerously at her.

"I smelled you back at the airport," she quipped. "Fuck man, I know you're a demon, but does that mean you can't shower?"

The demon slammed her back against the wall, jarring her into silence.

"Joke all you wish. Once we harness the power of the slayer, we'll be able to move like you, and once we harness her psychic power, we'll be able to think like you. We'll always be a step ahead, slayer. You and your army of girls will become obsolete."

"Fuck you," Faith grunted. When the demon pulled her from the wall, ready to slam her back into it again, she spat in his face.

Much to her surprise, the demon dropped her to the ground and clutched his face with both hands as he howled in pain.

Faith smiled as a sudden realization hit her. Biyalek demons. Her first Watcher had told her about them. Arid dwellers. Flesh eaters. And painfully allergic to water and non-blood liquids.

Struggling to her feet, Faith ran back to the makeshift shelter. She grabbed a gallon of water and ripped off the top, hurling backwards just in time to hit the stumbling demon. The water bottle exploded on contact with the force that she threw it, dousing the demon's entire head and chest. He fell to the ground as a sizzling sound filled the air, letting Faith know that her assumptions had been correct.

She glanced down at her watch and noticed that she had about one minute left to get in the warehouse and take care of the demons. It didn't matter that she had enhanced speed and agility; there was no way she could drag all of those gallons of water into the warehouse on time.

Instead, Faith ran back to the building and hopped up on the dumpster again. Peeking into the building, she got an idea. She lifted herself up and punched out the remaining jagged glass, then hopped into the warehouse. The demons within immediately began to scramble around looking for a way up to her, but she found what she was looking for before they could reach her.

Digging deep in her pocket, she pulled out a small metal lighter that she'd stolen from some guy at the Bronze years before and flicked it open, igniting a small orange flame.

She looked down at the angry demons and flipped them off with a huge smile on her face as she held the lighter up to the sprinkler system. Immediately, large rivulets of water began to cascade down from the dozens of sprinkler heads, dousing the entire floor space of the warehouse. The demons howled in pain, trying their best to find shelter or hide under their robes, but there was no use. There was nowhere to hide.

Faith made her way down the old wooden scaffolding and toward the center of the room where Sara was stirring lightly as the water rained down upon her. She stepped over the bodies of the dead and dying demons, kicking them along the way. When she finally reached the table, she found a pair of the brightest blue eyes staring up at her, alarmed.

"Where am I?" Sara asked groggily.

"You're safe," Faith answered as she tore at the straps holding the girl down.

Sara sat up and wiped the water from her eyes, immediately noticing the bodies of the demons around them.

"I don't feel very safe," she said, wrapping her arms around her now soaking wet body.

"Trust me, you're a whole lot safer than you were about five minutes ago."

Sara tilted her head to the side, staring Faith in the eyes.

"You're her," she said quietly.

Faith chuckled.

"If by 'her' you mean the slayer, you're half way right. But I'm not Buffy. I'm the replacement."

Sara smiled softly. "Not her. You're the one that's going to save us."

Faith raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"Now you defo got the wrong slayer. Buffy's the one that saves the day, not me."

Sara did her best to stand up from the table, but her legs were still shaky from the sedatives. Faith grabbed onto her and held her up with an arm around her waist.

"I mean you, Faith. Be strong. He's old and it won't be easy, but this is what you're meant to do."

Faith looked genuinely confused now. Surely this girl was just rambling on due to some side effect of the drugs. But then . . . how had she known her name? And who the hell was this old guy she was talking about?

"Come on," Faith said, shaking her head and leading them toward the door. "We've gotta call your ma and dad and get you to a hospital, and I've got a friend to check up on."

* * *

"We never wanted all of this for her," Sara's dad Maury said as he sat on the edge of her hospital bed holding her hand.

"Daddy, I'm fine," Sara said, embarrassed.

Faith just watched with a smile.

"When she was seven years old we put her in therapy because she would speak of things she couldn't have ever known," Sara's mother Alice chimed in. "We didn't believe her when she'd tell us things, but then they started happening and we knew that we had a situation on our hands."

"And then a couple of weeks ago I accidentally kicked a hole in the wall when I was messing around with my best friend Jamie," Sara added with a smile that was half proud. "Next thing we know, Mr. Giles called and said he'd be sending a representative out to speak with us about the situation. We all know how that one ended," she finished as she looked down at the IV in her hand.

"Yeah, but it all worked out in the end. Usually does for the good guys," Faith smiled. "Robin's in a room down the hall and he's gonna be fine, Giles is here and is lookin' forward to chattin' your ears off, your slayer healing is fixing you up like new, and me? Well . . . it's just another day at the office."

"Are your days always this eventful?" Maury asked with a chuckle.

Faith shrugged.

"Sometimes. That's just cos I like to be my own boss. Thing about Giles though? He's got a good deal in the works. If Sara wants to go and learn about her abilities with other girls like her, she'll never be alone. I spent a lot of time alone when I was first called and . . . I dunno, was fun at first but I think it did more harm than good."

Her words weren't lost on Maury and Alice, who looked from her down to their daughter.

"Well, whatever you went through, I'd say it was worth it. You saved our little girl," Maury explained, looking back to Faith with appreciation. "Thank you, for everything."

Faith was overcome with a feeling that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She'd never been the one to save the day before. To save the girl. She wasn't used to praise and she wasn't sure that she liked it, but she sure didn't mind not being the screw-up for once.

Offering one last smile to the family, she stood up and excused herself, but not before giving Sara her personal number in case she ever had any questions or just needed to talk.

It wasn't something she'd ever done before, but she was more than happy to offer it up this time.

When she walked out into the hallway, she found Giles stood with his back resting against the wall, a small smile on his face. How much he'd heard, she wasn't sure, but she was hoping that she wasn't about to get a pity party for her small revelation about her earlier years.

"They're all yours, G-man. I'm gonna go check up on Wood, and you try not to bore them to tears with that whole 'one girl in all the world' mumbo jumbo."

"I'm afraid that speech is a bit outdated," he quipped.

"Maybe a little," Faith said with a grin. "After I know he's okay, I'm gonna hitch a cab back. Got lotsa stuff to take care of."

"Yes, I'd say that you do. I met Andrew at your new . . . _establishment_ . . . and he begged me to make you reconsider your pending purchase."

"Yeah, that ain't gonna happen. Once I get it fixed up, it's gonna be good. Nothing more than I need, yunno?" Faith said as she leaned back against the wall next to Giles, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes, I do know," Giles said, crossing his arms over his chest in a similar gesture. "It's also why the Council has decided to complete the purchase post haste so that you can get started in your . . . erm, _journey_, is it?"

Faith lowered her head at that and stood there silently for a few moments as Giles waited for some type of response, good or bad. He knew that Faith didn't take kindly to unexpected and un-requested help. He was ready to deal with that.

"I don't need a babysitter, Giles, and I don't need people sticking their noses in places they don't need to be. I've got a handle on things, and I . . ."

"I'm quite aware that you do, Faith, and I assure you that this isn't an attempt to snoop upon your business. The Council, previously, has always done its best to accommodate its slayers. In regards to you, they failed miserably. It's something that haunted them for their duration. In re-creating the Council, I've decided that there are certain wrongs that we need to right. I'm aware that it may seem like a bribe or hush money, but that's not our intention. We're asking nothing of you. We . . . I'd just like . . ."

Giles began to falter, anxiously taking off his glasses to clean them with his handkerchief. Faith interrupted him though, hoping to stop the moment from becoming any more awkward than it already was.

"Hey, I get it," she said, holding up her hands. "Just trying to help. And . . . thanks, I guess. Just . . . don't get used to it, yeah?"

She offered him a small smile so that he knew she was okay with it.

"I won't make it a habit," he said with a smile of his own.

Giles agreed to give Faith a ride back to her place on his way back to California, which made Faith quite happy knowing that he wasn't going to stick around to watch over her. She liked Giles, she did. She just didn't want him getting used to sticking around.

Then she'd realized something. California? Wasn't he supposed to be in England with most of the other Scoobies?

Giles explained that while Council Headquarters would remain in England, he had people there that were more than qualified to run the operation. His plan all along had been to come back to the states and run several slayer bases from there. He was staying in California now, though he imagined he'd end up in Cleveland once the primary base of slayers was established there.

And of course, Buffy couldn't be that far away from the action, especially once Giles had returned. She'd packed her and Dawn's bags and headed back to the US, temporarily holing up in Los Angeles with Giles. Though she remained dedicated to retiring from the slayer action, slaying was in her blood. If she wasn't going to be out doing her job, the least she could do was teach and help others.

Xander even managed to make Los Angeles his base of operations even though he was traveling to new slayers more often than not.

Faith guessed that when it really came down to it, the Scooby gang just couldn't bear to part from one another.

Making her way down the long hospital corridor, Faith watched the room numbers pass by until she reached Robin's room. She gave an almost inaudible knock on the door before peeking her head in.

"Hey," she said quietly when she saw Robin awake and flicking through the TV channels.

"Hey," he said back, his face instantly lighting up as he watched her walk in and plop down on the chair next to the bed. "Wasn't sure you'd stop by. Know how much you hate hospitals after the last time."

"Yeah, well . . . sucked watching you die and come back all those times. Think maybe I'm traumatized or something," Faith winked and kicked her feet up on the side of the bed, the perfect picture of relaxation.

"Yeah, _you're_ traumatized," he said as he tried to sit up in the bed, wincing as he felt his stitches pulling.

"Easy, buddy," Faith said and sat forward with her legs back on the floor. "You've got a few days at least before they release you. Just sit back, relax, and let your body heal properly this time. And shit, no more field trips for you until you're good and healed. I mean it this time, yo."

Robin smiled and rested his head back on the lumpy hospital pillow.

"I think I could use some of that patented Faith healing," he quipped, but stared directly into her eyes when he said it.

Faith understood what he meant, but she didn't let on that she did.

"You want me to call a priest or a mojo man or something?"

Robin laughed but winced immediately. Faith gave him a friendly smile, but nothing more than that.

Faith knew she'd always made stupid decisions, especially when it came to her sex life. Back in Sunnydale when they got groiny together, she wasn't thinking that he was a guy she could end up with. She was thinking that she was about to die and wanted to spend her last few hours doing something she'd always enjoyed.

She figured that Robin was on the same page, but then he started talking about dates and proving her wrong and she knew that she'd made a mistake. Nothing about Robin screamed one night stand, and he certainly didn't seem to accept that it was anything less than a possible starting point for a relationship together.

There was no future for them as a couple, Faith knew that. She liked Robin. She appreciated him and he made her laugh. They could be great friends if he was willing to accept it, but her heart was elsewhere. She'd locked it away, knowing fully well that there was only ever one person that had had it.

And that person was totally not making with the reciprocation.

Still, she didn't want to hurt Robin's feelings, so she tried the friendly approach.

"I dunno, Mr. Principal. I'm trying this whole new thing where I focus on the important stuff. Not that you're not important, but . . . yeah. You need to get better, and I need to focus on finding out who I am and learning to like whoever that is."

Robin's smile faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"I get it," he began. "You still don't think there are any good guys out there. You're used to the same old song and dance, get some get gone. I'm gonna show you different. Mark my word."

Faith smiled politely but looked down at her hands.

"You don't need to show me anything other than what it's like to have a good friend. That's all I want from you, Rob. Serious, yeah?"

She looked back up at him, only to find him smiling knowingly.

"Okay," he said. "But I'm not giving up."

Faith merely shook her head and chuckled, unwilling to be any more direct with him in his current condition. They'd have a talk somewhere down the line. Until then, she'd let him think whatever made him happy.

Stealing the remote from his hand, she put her feet back up on the bed and began flicking through the channels.

"So, anything good on this thing?"

Robin groaned. "Nothing but soap operas and talk shows."

"Ouch," Faith winced. "Who knows. Maybe we'll luck out and Montel will have a show about babydaddy's."

She flicked over to the proper channel and sure enough, Mr. Montel Williams was holding an envelope with the ever-elusive results of a paternity test in his hands.

"Score," Faith said with a grin. "I'll bet you twenty bucks none of those three are the babydaddy, and an extra ten if the chick runs off stage crying."

"Oh, you're on. "

* * *

"Honey, I'm home," Faith called out as she walked into the ramshackle building she was now calling home.

Her ride back with Giles had been short and sweet, just the way she liked it. Giles asked if there was anything else he could do, not as the head of the Council but as a friend.

That had meant more to Faith than she could have imagined, but she didn't show it. Instead, she merely said that buying the building had been enough and that she'd be in touch.

The great thing about having lots of money was that the Council could pretty much arrange for a quick transaction. The real estate agent was due to come around within the next week for Faith to sign the final paperwork, and she was even granted permission to be on the premises until that time.

Seeing the amount of work that needed to be done and her eagerness to just get it over with, she was grateful that Giles had worked out that last small detail.

Faith looked around the small living space when she walked in, instantly noticing that much of the debris had already been moved, saved for two old wooden chairs and the large sofa that undoubtedly needed more than one person to move it. She found Andrew sweeping the floor while Anya practiced her sitting skills.

"You're back," Anya said with a smile as she noticed Faith. "Very good. I'm happy that I didn't send you to Siberia."

"Same here," Faith said as she took off her jacket and slung it over the back of one of the chairs. "What happened to this place? Not complaining, but you totally killed the Talking Trash Heap." She took a seat on the chair and continued to look around.

The place really wasn't so bad with most of the debris cleared out of the room.

"Well, you left me here alone in the middle of the night and I wasn't prepared to sleep," Andrew began, "so . . . I got out this trusty broom and I . . ."

"Oh, can it," Anya interrupted him. "Giles called Merry Maids. They did what they could, but said that there needs to be some structural work before they can do a proper job."

"Sneaky old bastard," Faith said with a smile. "No wonder he was all about gettin' out quick before I got into the place."

"Yes, well he left some phone numbers for local contractors. I'd assume that you should get some estimates to fix this place up," Anya said, looking around distastefully as she continued trying to sit on the couch without falling through.

"I'll get on that in the morning," Faith said with a nod.

Anya cheered excitedly as she finally managed to sit down on the old couch, her body fully on top of the cushions and not sinking through them.

"It's a shame, you know," Anya began after a few moments and cheers from Andrew passed, a thoughtful gaze on her face. "Most contractors will completely take advantage of a young woman looking for pricing and overcharge her. I know I would."

"You're a real gem," Faith joked.

"Yes, I am. Anyhow, I was just thinking that with his experience as a contractor, it would be really nice if you could hire . . ."

Anya stopped mid-sentence as the front door came flying in and an excitable and anxious looking Xander came running through, his eyes immediately locking on her.

"Anya!"

" . . . Xander?"

The shock of seeing him made her lose focus, sending her slipping through the couch and into the basement once again.

Faith calmly looked from the couch, to Xander, and then to Andrew as the sounds of Anya shrieking in the basement filled the room.

"Hey Andy, think you better go save the lizards."

_...Roll credits..._

TBC


	3. Episode 3: The Tour Guide

**Note: **A big thank you to everyone who reviewed. You guys are awesome. :)

* * *

**Episode Three****: The Tour Guide**

**Suggested music for the Theater scene: Don't Make Me Come To Vegas by Tori Amos**

_Previously on Walk The Line:_

_Anya stopped mid-sentence as the front door came flying in and an excitable and anxious looking Xander came running through, his eyes immediately locking on her._

_"Anya!"_

_" . . . Xander?"_

_The shock of seeing him made her lose focus, sending her slipping through the couch and into the basement once again._

_Faith calmly looked from the couch, to Xander, and then to Andrew as the sounds of Anya shrieking in the basement filled the room._

_"Hey Andy, think you better go save the lizards."_

* * *

There were things that Xander Harris could deal with. Being chased by supernatural freaks on a daily basis? Good. Getting carved up by a demon chick? Fine. Having a crazed preacher thumb his eyeball into oblivion? Fantastic!

But watching his supposedly dead girlfriend, no, ex-girlfriend -- whatever she was – slip not-so-gracefully through a couch was one of the few things he couldn't rationally deal with.

"Anya!" he yelled again, looking nervously around the room. "Where did she go?"

"Judging from the distance and echo of her shrieks, I'd say she's in the basement," came a voice from behind him.

Faith stiffened up as she instantly recognized the voice.

Buffy.

No. Nuh-uh. There was no way that Buffy Summers would haul her ass all the way from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in a Ford Taurus, especially if she knew that Faith was there.

Sure enough, Buffy chose that moment to step out from behind Xander, her arms folded across her chest.

Faith smiled nervously but tried to keep her cool. She wasn't ready for visitors, especially the sort that would judge her every move and decision. Xander was cool; he'd be too busy pining over Anya to pass judgment. But there was only one reason that Buffy was there.

To check up on her.

"Got it in one, B," Faith quipped, trying to keep an air of nonchalance around her. "Next question: To what do I owe the pleasure of such distinguished Scooby company?"

Xander didn't answer. He was too busy lying on the old floor boards with his ear to the ground, listening to the sounds in the basement. Buffy stepped over him and scoped the place out, giving away nothing of her initial thoughts.

"Xander's here, obviously, because he heard Giles mention Anya and Las Vegas. There's nothing he loves more than Anya. And all you can eat buffets," Buffy added.

"Nothing like bustin' a gut for the bargain price of 11.95," Faith said with a nod. "How bout you? What's your story?"

Buffy shrugged.

"I was bored. I get to be a supportive friend and be a tourist. It's a win-win situation."

"For you," Faith said. "Not exactly set up for guests yet. We're still holed up at some no-tell motel a few miles from here."

"How come the noises stopped?" Xander asked no one in particular. "Where did she go?"

"We're?" Buffy asked in response to Faith, completely ignoring Xander.

"Hi Buffy," Andrew said cheerily as he walked back into the room.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Buffy laughed.

"B, I'd like you to meet my roommate and fetcher of donuts," Faith said with a grin. "Some people are born with luck. Me? Mighta been cursed. Still lookin' into it."

"Um, Faith," Andrew interrupted, "Anya says that she'll be back. She has lizard in her hair and is trying to find a spa that caters to ghostly customers."

"Anya's a ghost?" came another voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned to see a confused Dawn standing there in dark sunglasses with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder.

"Holy shit, did you guys come in a clown car or something? Seriously, how many more of you are gonna pop out?" Faith asked as she walked to the door and looked outside at Xander's Taurus.

"Unless Xander had someone in the trunk, I'm the last one," Dawn said evenly as she lowered her sunglasses and gazed around the room distastefully. "We're not actually staying here, are we, Buffy?"

"No," Buffy said quickly. "We'll find a hotel. This is Las Vegas after all. I think there are about a thousand to choose from."

"Hello, grown man having a panic attack here!" Xander interrupted the casual conversation. "Is there anyone here who can tell me what's going on or at least get me a paper bag to breathe into?"

He plopped back onto the old couch, sending a plume of dust up into the air.

Faith walked back into the room and sat down on the same chair she'd been sat on earlier, the perfect picture of relaxation once again despite the ball of nerves in her stomach.

"Sorry Xan, didn't mean to leave ya hanging. Lotsa excitement though, yunno? Anyhow, me and Andy were checkin' the place out and bam! We find Anya in the cupboard. The Powers That Be sent her here to help me out," Faith explained.

"What?" Buffy asked, surprised. "The Powers sent you a liaison? They never sent me anything. Not even a bouquet when I was, yunno . . . dead. Twice. Heck, they didn't even like to cooperate with me."

Faith shrugged.

"Guess they figured ya didn't need the help. You had your own team of helper monkeys."

"Hey, I resent that!" Xander said. "And I'm still a little bit confused here. If Anya's alive again, where did she go? "

"She's non-corporeal," Faith answered. "Can't touch her, and she pretty much can't touch anything yet, but she's learning. Saw for yourself what happened when she lost her focus."

"No touching?" Xander asked.

"No touching," Faith confirmed. "Get all the horny fantasies outta your head right now, Xanman. She's strictly hands off, literally."

Xander looked disappointed to say the least. Though he promised himself he'd not get his hopes up when Giles had mentioned Anya, he'd gone right ahead and done so anyhow. There was so much about the past that he regretted. He loved Anya so much, but he had let his insecurities pull them apart.

He'd gotten a bit of a chance to make amends with her before they left Sunnydale, but he felt like they never got the closure they needed. They'd deserved a second chance together and were quite possibly headed in that direction, but they never did get that chance. Anya was cut down in the battle against the First, leaving Xander feeling empty, incomplete, and full of regret.

He'd spent a lot of his time since then wishing for a do-over, for a chance to make things right. Despite his best efforts to play it cool and not get his hopes up, they soared high as the sky as soon as Giles had mentioned that Anya was back in some form or another.

Understandably, it was a bit of a letdown for him to find out that yes, Anya was back, but that she was -- for all intents and purposes -- a ghost.

Seeing his downtrodden expression, Buffy walked over and sat down gingerly next to him, placing a caring hand on his shoulder.

"We knew this was a possibility, Xander. We talked about what we might find when we got here."

"I know," Xander said with a nod, his one good eye downcast. "It's just . . . I got my hopes up, Buff. Then I walked in here and saw her sitting down on this very couch, looking so beautiful and real. My heart just about stopped. I don't know; guess I just thought maybe things were going to work out for a change."

"I know," Buffy said sadly. "When she's back from, well, wherever she went to, I'm sure she'd love to talk to you. I think there's a lot that was left unsaid."

"Yeah," Xander said, trying to pull himself together. He looked over at Andrew then. "Any idea when she's coming back?"

"It might be a while," Andrew said. "I tried telling her that the lizard didn't touch her with her current state of non-corporeal-ness, but she made threats and went anyway. I figured it was safer for me to just let her go."

Xander half grinned then.

"That's Anya. No one messes with her hair except for pre-approved stylists."

"Well," Buffy interrupted, "since we have some time to kill, maybe it would be wise to find a place to stay."

"Plan on staying a while then?" Faith asked.

Buffy smiled. "It's Vegas, Faith. I plan on living it up a bit before I turn around and go back home to . . ."

"Nothing. Before you go back home to nothing," Dawn interrupted. "You need a job, or a hobby or something. You were all gung-ho about retiring, and now that you are you're bored and driving me insane. No slaying and no job for Buffy make Dawn go crazy."

Faith couldn't help but smile. So Buffy wasn't quite enjoying her retirement, or at least it would seem that way. She knew that slaying ran through Buffy's veins. As much as Buffy could try to suppress it to live a normal life, the slayer was alive and kicking within her, just as it was in Faith.

It was only a matter of time until Buffy came to grips with that and returned to doing what she was meant to do.

What that meant for Faith, well . . . she wasn't sure. It was nice to have people in her corner this time around, but she was almost positive that if Buffy came back into the game, they'd all flock to her side again.

So much for the ghostly liaison and donut-fetching geek.

Whatever, she thought. It wasn't like she'd never done things on her own before.

Still, if Buffy was determined to live a slayer-free life, Faith was determined to give her just that. If some kind of supernatural shit hit the fan during their visit, Faith would keep it under wraps and take care of it on her own.

She shook her head and focused on the conversation at hand, which had taken an amusing turn.

"Yeah, well stupid comments and out-of-line siblings turn Buffy into a frugal tourist. Maybe we can just stay here. You can use the lizard as a pillow," Buffy commented with a grin.

Dawn took the bait, however, and immediately changed her tune.

"Fine, fine. You don't make me insane, Buffy. Really, I'm the picture of perfect sanity. Look up the word 'sanity' in a dictionary and you'll see a picture of my smiling face next to it. Now, how about we check out the Bellagio? I hear it's beautiful inside and out and that it has the best shopping center."

"On our budget? I don't think so, Dawnie," Buffy replied.

Dawn looped her arm through Buffy's and steered her out the door, talking a mile a minute about hotels and fares.

Their voices got quieter and quieter as they walked away from the building. Faith finally turned around to find a still distraught looking Xander on the couch.

"Hey . . . you okay?" she asked him, squatting down in front of him to meet his gaze.

He looked up at her, sadness written across his face.

"No, but I can pretend," he said with a sad smile.

"Listen, you don't have to go and play happy. I'll take the girls around and find a place for you guys to stay. I can play happy hostess for a while. You stay here and wait for Anya if you want. She'll probably end up back here looking for us."

Xander sighed, relieved.

"Thanks, Faith. Wasn't sure how long I'd be able to keep the happy face on for."

"Forget about it," Faith said, standing up and dusting her hands off on her pants. "You got my number if you need us. I'll even take Andrew off your back for a while."

Xander smiled softly and nodded, then went back to staring at some random point on the floor. She took his keys from the cushion next to him and grabbed Andrew's shirt sleeve, pulling him along with her.

"Great, I've been dying to visit the strip again. There's this place inside the Aladdin, they have the best cheeseburgers . . ."

"That's great, thanks for the info, Andy, but I've got other plans for you," Faith interrupted with a smile. She let go of Andrew's shirt and continued walking toward the car while Andrew stopped walking and looked painfully after her.

"So . . . no cheeseburgers then?"

* * *

"I can't believe you left him at a car lot," Buffy said as she looked out the window of Xander's car, her sunglasses hiding her amusement.

"Yunno what? You're probably right. Let's go back and get him," Faith replied easily and made like she was about to turn the car around

"No!" Came the simultaneous response from Buffy and Dawn.

"That's what I thought," Faith grinned.

"But are you sure you trust him to pick out your car?" Dawn asked. "I mean, you could end up with a total guy car."

"Or the Starship Enterprise," Buffy quipped, the corners of her lips fixed in a permanent smile.

Faith kept her focus on the road but she couldn't help but notice how much more Buffy was smiling. Retirement, even though it was boring her, was doing Buffy good, and for some crazy reason it was making Faith equally happy.

"Shit, I don't care what the hell he gets me so long as it's not all beat up or, yunno . . . pink. Just needs to get me from point A to point B. Besides, I told him if he picks out a lemon he's payin' for it outta his own pocket. I gave him the basics, he'll handle it."

"You sure are giving him lots of credit," Dawn said from the back seat.

Faith shrugged.

"Yeah, well . . . guess there's no reason why I shouldn't. He's a smart kid. Can't keep him on the short bus just cos he's a geek. And he totally handled the real estate stuff with Giles."

"Yeah, I guess," Dawn agreed.

They settled into a comfortable silence as they made their way down a very traffic filled and congested Las Vegas Blvd. Quiet music filtered throughout the car and Faith couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard Buffy humming along quietly.

"Seems like you're diggin' this whole retirement thing," she began. "The whole happy thing suits you."

Buffy thought about it for a moment before responding.

"I don't think I'm used to not being in crisis mode every other day, but it's nice to get a break. Definitely a different change of pace."

"Well if anyone deserves a break, it's you, I'll give ya that much," Faith said.

"Thanks," Buffy said quietly, looking back out the window. "How about that one?" she asked Dawn as she pointed toward the Paris hotel.

"No, the Bellagio, Buffy," Dawn answered as she pointed at the much more glamorous and elegant hotel just across the street.

"Dawn, we spent three weeks in Italy and you complained the whole time. Why waste our money on a place you've already seen? Let's stay at Paris or The Luxor. Hey, New York New York has a roller coaster. You love roller coasters," Buffy tried to reason.

Dawn leaned forward into the front seat and pointed toward a long drive.

"Pull in there, Faith."

Faith chuckled to herself and made the quick turn into the entrance of the Bellagio. Buffy sighed while Dawn bounced around in excitement.

"I can't believe you let her get her way," Buffy grumbled at Faith.

"Hey, far be it from me to deny anything to a Summers girl. Not stepping in front of that firing squad, thanks," Faith replied easily.

They pulled up to the front entrance and a handsome valet jogged over as they stepped out of the car.

"Welcome to the Bellagio, ladies."

"Thank you," Dawn said with a coy smile.

Buffy and Faith watched in amusement as Dawn strutted around as enticingly as she could manage while maneuvering her heavy bags. The valet, however, couldn't take his eyes off of Faith as she handed him the keys.

"Thanks buddy," she said as she walked away toward the front doors casually, ignoring the glare that Dawn was sending her way.

"So not fair, he didn't even give me a second look," Dawn grumbled as she followed with her arms crossed over her chest.

Faith caught Buffy's gaze for a split second before quickly looking back to Dawn.

"Sorry kiddo, but hey. . . he's not exactly my type. He's all yours."

She didn't explain any further. Instead, she walked across the lobby and to the check in area with Buffy and Dawn following closely behind her.

Buffy stepped forward and up to the desk when an attendant called her over. She booked a room for three days but told the clerk that that was only an estimated time; that they might stay longer or shorter depending on how the visit went.

Faith took special note of that; though she appreciated that they seemed to be there for vacation, she wondered exactly what might cause Buffy to want to leave early. Maybe she needed to have Andrew parade around quoting Star Trek for a while.

Then again, she didn't want Buffy to kill the guy, so she decided to keep that idea quiet at least for the time being.

With key cards in hand, the three girls made their way through the seemingly endless casino and towards the guest elevators.

"Why the heck do they keep the elevators so far from the lobby?" Dawn asked as she struggled to carry her heavy duffel bag.

Faith grabbed the bag from Dawn and easily flung it over her shoulder as they trekked along.

"It's just another way to con more money outta the guests. You're headed back to your room, walkin through the casino ooh-in and ahh-in, and ya hear all those slot machines chiming away and see some random Joe jumping around like an idiot cos he just won five hundred bucks. Makes ya wanna try your own luck."

"How do you know that?" Dawn asked.

"Growin up in Boston, I spent a lotta time with my mom's parents. They were gambling fiends, used to drive us back and forth to Atlantic City a lot. Got to learn the tricks of the trade early on."

"How old were you?" Dawn asked.

"'Bout seven or eight," Faith said with a shrug. "It was like a six hour drive – five the way my Gramps drove – but I was this little ball of energy. Used to drive them crazy on the ride. So my Gramps, he used to give me a shot of Brandy when my Grams wasn't looking. I'd pass out dead to the world after ten minutes."

"That's . . . disturbing," Dawn said and laughed.

"Nah, it's . . ." Faith began to explain but stopped when she noticed Buffy was missing. "B?"

Leave it to Buffy to be absent during the first time that Faith decided to open up about her past. Both Dawn and Faith turned around to see Buffy at a slot machine, eyes excited as she pulled the lever back. She smiled all big as the machine started chiming.

"I won!" Buffy exclaimed.

The two girls walked over casually to find that Buffy had won a whopping 20. Still, it didn't stop Buffy from jumping around excitedly.

Dawn rolled her eyes and said quietly enough so that only Faith could hear:

"She needs a shot of Brandy, stat."

* * *

After settling their items in their hotel room and checking the place out, Buffy and Dawn conned Faith into touring the strip a bit before heading back to Xander. Buffy had called Xander and asked if he wanted to join them, but he was intent on waiting for Anya to make her reappearance and urged them to go on without him.

Faith didn't have much choice but to tag along with Buffy and Dawn. She called Andrew who was busy wheeling and dealing at the car lot and informed him of the plans. He happily agreed to meet her back at their new place later that night but made sure to let her know that he'd make an excellent tour guide if she changed her mind.

The girls weaved in and out of the constant crowds of people, taking time to check out every street vendor and performer that they could, all while avoiding the guys handing out escort and stripper pamphlets as best as they could.

Dawn made a game of it at first, taking every flier and pamphlet that they handed her, but Buffy eventually made her throw them out when people began to stare at the rather large collection of naked girly literature.

They made their way past Caesar's Palace and the Mirage, stopping only to rest when Buffy and Dawn complained that they'd worn the wrong shoes.

After more complaining than Faith could take, she suggested that they hop on one of the passenger busses and step off when they found something they wanted to see. Buffy and Dawn were more than happy to do so, both girls rubbing their sore feet as the bus moved along.

They soon found themselves in an area with most of the older, less glamorous hotels. None of the girls made any move to get off of the bus as nothing there seemed incredibly appealing to them. They figured that they'd wait for the bust to turn around so that they could head back toward the newer, more popular area.

Just as Faith decided that there was nothing worth seeing on their side of the street, she noticed an old woman walking around on the sidewalk in some glitzy, ridiculous showgirl attire, trying her damnedest to get the attention of the passersby. Most of the people walking along ignore her, however, dismissing her as yet another crazy homeless person.

But not Faith. She could tell that something was off.

Without thinking, she stepped off the side of the slow moving bus and made her way toward the old lady. Buffy and Dawn yelled after her but when she didn't stop, they hopped off too, groaning about their sore feet.

The old woman noticed Faith walking towards her and how she kept eye contact, looking concerned. She immediately made her way over, her hands clinging to Faith's arm as she pleaded with her.

"You have to help me!" the old woman pleaded.

"What happened?" Faith asked, concerned but puzzled at the same time.

"He's got them. He's got them all!" she explained, leaving Faith even more in the dark.

"Who's he, and what does he got?" Faith asked, trying her best to sound soothing.

Buffy and Dawn came jogging up behind Faith, wondering exactly what the hell was going on.

"Mr. Deacon," the old woman said exasperatedly. "He has my friends and he won't let them go. Had me too, but I outsmarted his security. Took me almost forty years but I did it! We have to help them, oh please . . . you have to help us!"

"We will. I . . . I will," Faith corrected herself. She didn't bother to address Buffy's semi-irritated look. Instead, she took the old lady's arm and led her toward a small diner nearby.

* * *

Faith was sat next to the old woman, Kitty, at a small round table with Buffy and Dawn sat on the opposite side, listening closely to her tale.

"It was the 1960's when I came to Las Vegas. So long ago that I forget the exact year," Kitty began her tale. "The Rat Pack, they were the big deal then. This place was nothing more than a dust trap before them, but they turned things around. Made Las Vegas an entertainment destination. I was just a poor girl from South Dakota, but I had dreams. I wanted to see my name in lights. We watched a television special with Frank Sinatra singing in Caesar's Palace and he had the most beautiful, elegant dancers. I knew then that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to dance for Frank Sinatra."

Kitty paused to take a sip of her coffee, her wrinkled hands clasped tightly around the warm mug.

"So, I bought a bus ticket and headed here to start my new life. I was going to be the best dancer in the lot. But what I didn't know was that thousands of young girls across America had seen that same program and had the same idea in mind. When I got here, there were girls up and down the streets, standing in lines for auditions. I wasn't kidding myself; I knew I wasn't good enough to compete with them. That's when I saw an ad for cocktail waitresses at the hotel you saw me outside of back there. I went in, had an interview, and I was the newest addition to their staff."

"So what happened?" Faith asked, nervously fiddling with her own coffee mug.

"Well, I did what I was supposed to and I did it well, but I'd always sneak off to watch the dancers in the theater. They were graceful, almost magical. So beautiful, so youthful, so elegant. Mr. Deacon, the owner of the hotel, he'd been watching me. He pulled me into his office one evening and I begged him up and down to spare my job. I promised I'd never sneak off to watch the dancers again. He wasn't mad though. In fact, he was very friendly. He told me that I had what so many people lacked: aspiration, ambition. When he offered me a contract to be a dancer, I hastily accepted it and signed away, anxious at the new opportunity. That's when it all began to change."

"What changed?" Dawn asked.

Kitty smiled sadly as she gazed into her cup of coffee.

"Everything. He put my name in lights. I didn't think anything of it. I danced better than I ever had, had more fans than I could ever imagine. It was wonderful. But something wasn't right. He kept the dancers in the hotel, ordering us to live in staff quarters. We weren't allowed to leave, but we daren't say anything to him; after all, he gave us such a great opportunity. Years went by and we became miserable. We were prisoners there, held by our dreams and desire to make it big."

"Didn't you ever stop to wonder why he wouldn't let ya leave?" Faith asked.

"Well, yes, of course. We couldn't ask though. It would have been insubordinate, and we'd signed contracts of our own free will. So, the years started to pass and times started to change, but . . . we didn't. The same people came and went, and they grew older, but . . . we didn't. It was magic. We kept our youth so that we could keep Mr. Deacon open for business and making money. No one but us noticed, but no one would listen. Customers came and went, but Mr. Deacon was smart; he'd always change the lead girl, the headliner, so the focus wasn't solely on one of us."

"How did you get past security?" Buffy finally chimed in, concentrating on every detail.

"I climbed into a laundry bin and housekeeping wheeled me into the basement. Once I was there I saw a delivery lift and I climbed out through it and into the back alley. And that's when . . ." Kitty stopped and looked down at her wrinkled, slightly shaking hands. She was unable to speak, clearly distraught at seeing herself aged almost forty years.

"It's okay," Buffy said softly, lightly touching Kitty's hand with her own. "We're going to help you."

"I hope you can, but he's so powerful," Kitty said sadly. "He's not human. I never knew people like him existed, but they do."

"Gonna let you in on a little secret," Faith said with a small grin as she leaned in closer to Kitty. "Me and B here? We're powerful too. Now B, she's retired, but I'm thinkin' that I can take care of your friend Mr. Deacon. I have a friend who can find out . . ."

"Quit telling people I'm retired," Buffy interrupted. "I'm here and I can help. With the both of us on this, we can just get in there and . . ."

"I don't think so," Faith interrupted this time. "You're here on vacation, B, and I'm not about to get blamed for making you do un-retirey things. I've got a hand on it from here. You and Dawn go get Andrew, ask him to find out what kind of demon this guy is . . ."

"Demon?" Kitty asked, confused.

"Oh no, I am NOT teaming up with Andrew. I'm a slayer, Faith . . ."

"You were, and now you're Buffy Normal. Not lettin' ya change that cos ya happened to be in the wrong place at the right time," Faith cut her off. "Now go and get Andy . . ."

". . . or don't, and instead listen to Dawn," Dawn interrupted now. "The demon is a time shifter. He can hold time still in any given space. Time goes on, but he can hold things – and people – in a given time or state. Looks like this guy is a greedy time shifter that wanted a share in the big bucks, which is why he held all of the pretty young dancers there all these years. Speaking of pretty young dancers, I also think you're dealing with a bit of a perv."

Buffy and Faith stopped their bickering back and forth and looked at Dawn. Kitty just looked completely puzzled.

"You sure about that, kid?" Faith asked, standing up from the table and fishing in her pocket for some money.

"Definitely. You don't live in slayer central for all those years without learning a bit about the baddies," Dawn answered.

"Good. You guys stay here with Kitty . . ."

"Absolutely not," Buffy interrupted and stood up. "Like it or not I'm in this too. We go, we slay, we . . ."

"Simmer down B, this isn't your game," Faith said sternly. "You wanna be the boss? Join the Council. You wanna help me out? Fine, I see you're all up on the helping front no matter what I say or do. But you're not slaying, no way no how. You can be bait."

For a moment Buffy looked angry, but she realized that Faith was right. No matter how much admitting that to herself made her cringe on the inside, it was true. Her features changed from anger to concern.

"Bait?"

* * *

Faith plonked another quarter into the old-fashioned slot machine, paying it no attention whatsoever as she looked past it and at the greasy middle-aged man who was busy interviewing Brittany at a cocktail table. Or should she say Buffy?

"Well," Buffy began, playing the role of an ambitious young airhead just perfectly, "I've always loved serving people. And I totally love the cute little outfits the waitresses get to wear. I think working here would be a great opportunity for me while I focus on my dream."

Mr. Deacon, the greasy-middle aged man who was busy leering at 'Brittany' in the most unnerving way ever, instantly perked up then.

"Dream? And what's your dream, sugar?" he asked as he rested his hand on Buffy's knee.

She fought back the urge to vomit, knowing that she had to stay in character.

Faith noticed Deacon's hand and almost stood from her inconspicuous spot behind the slot machine, but instead she took a slow drink from her bottle of beer and bided her time.

"Well . . . I want to be a dancer," Buffy said, an excited smile on her face. "I want my name written in lights as big as the strip!" she squealed excitedly.

Faith began to choke on her beer, nearly spitting it out all over herself. Mr. Deacon looked over in her direction, but she quickly recovered and went back to feeding quarters into the slot machine. Mr. Deacon looked back at Buffy, a devilish smile on his face.

"Brittany, I have to tell you: You're too good to be a cocktail waitress. I look at you and I see . . . potential. I think I have something better suited for you."

"Oh?" Buffy asked, playing coy.

"Yes. Yes I do. Brittany, let's you and I go for a walk. I think that we might be able to catch our dancers in a rehearsal. Maybe you can suit up, show me what you've got. As it stands, we lost a dancer earlier today and we need a replacement a.s.a.p."

With a completely fake smile plastered on her face, Buffy stood up and followed Mr. Deacon through the casino and toward the theater doors. Faith stood up and followed far behind, making sure to stop at random spots along the way, even fetching herself another beer from the bar. She couldn't have it look like she was following the owner of the casino around. Surely security would pick her out fast if they'd thought she was.

Instead, she took her time, reminding herself again and again that Buffy could take care of herself.

Still, she worried despite herself.

About ten minutes had passed when Faith finally made it to the theater doors. Buffy had been out of sight, out of contact for ten minutes now. Faith knew she should be cautious and go slow, but a protective feeling engulfed her and she had to know that Buffy was alright.

Just as she was about to walk through the double doors, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to see Dawn standing there with a scared looking Kitty at her side.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Faith asked as she ushered them off to the side, hoping to keep them away from anyone who might notice Kitty.

Then again, that might be difficult as she went from looking like a 20-something girl to a 60-something woman in the same day.

"I called Andrew to see if he could confirm my thoughts on the time shifter demon. For the record, I was right," Dawn explained.

Faith gave her an exasperated look and signaled for her to continue quickly.

"He says that the source of his power will be in his instrument of conscription."

"In English?" Faith asked.

"His pen. You've gotta get his pen."

Faith smiled. "Right. So, I find his pen, smash it up, and poof no more demon? Shit, easiest slay ever."

"Sounds like," Dawn said with a shrug. "Umm, where's Buffy?"

"In the theater," Faith said, nodding to the large double doors. "Was just about to check it out. Guess I can get my slay on now, too."

"Yup. And seeing as that you've got things covered in here, we'll just go back to the diner and wait. Come on, Kitty," Dawn said with a comforting smile, guiding Kitty down a row of slot machines.

After they left, Faith took a look around to make sure no one was watching before slipping cautiously through the large double doors.

Her entrance went unnoticed in the mostly dark theater, as the music playing in the theater covered the small clang of the doors closing. She slipped into the back row of chairs and slid down so that only her head was visible. Looking over the rows of chairs, she saw about twenty girls on the stage, all dancing uniformly to the music. They wore smiles on their faces, but Faith could see the anguish beneath their cheery façade.

She knew that she had to free them.

The music, almost trancelike in nature, continued to play through the theater as a new dancer made her way on stage. She was dressed like the others, but Faith didn't quite get the same Stepford Wives vibe from her.

It was Buffy.

She watched as Buffy observed the other dancers, trying to commit as much of their dance to memory as she could. After a few minutes, Buffy began to move with them in the dance, every step as graceful and elegant as the other dancers if not more so.

As Buffy bent and swayed to the music, Faith couldn't take her eyes from her lithe body. The way her muscles flexed under her skin, the way her hair tickled across her shoulders and danced across her back with every twist and turn.

Faith was mesmerized. She'd never seen something so beautiful, so alluring, and so completely and totally taboo from thinking about. Letting herself think about Buffy in non friend-like ways would only lead to badness down the line. Badness that would lead to her going crazy and through a downward spiral. Again.

Faith shook her head and looked down at her lap, almost ashamed at herself for having such thoughts. She had a job to do. Things to make right. She looked back up and saw Mr. Deacon standing on the side of the stage with a clipboard under his arm and a very prominent pen in his front pocket.

Steeling herself, she was just about to stand up so she could get things done when she heard the theater doors open. Two large security guards walked in escorting a visibly shaken Kitty and Dawn.

"Boss," one of the guards yelled, "look what we found."

Mr. Deacon turned and smiled evilly.

"Kitty. Welcome back, darling. We've missed you."

All of the dancers stopped and faced the commotion, pure shock written across their faces when they saw their long time friend in her current state.

"I'm not staying, you can't make me!" Kitty yelled as she struggled in the big security man's arms. "I've got friends who are helping me!"

Mr. Deacon just chuckled.

"Yeah? Well, what are you waiting for, Kitty? Introduce me. I'd love to meet these friends!"

Faith smirked to herself as she finally stood from her hiding position.

"Look what the Kitty dragged in," she said as she casually strode down the aisle, making her way toward the stage.

"This is your savior?" Deacon asked Kitty. "Really?"

Buffy took that opportunity to announce her true presence by upper-cutting Deacon on the jaw. He barely flinched and sent Buffy flying across the room in response. She landed in a heap against a cinderblock wall and lay there in a stupor, barely noticing the few dancers that ran over to check on her.

Dawn shrieked and tried to run over to Buffy's aid but the guard just held her back and laughed at her struggling.

Faith, on the other hand, leaped up on the stage and stood so she was face to face with Mr. Deacon.

"You wanna try that shit with me?" she asked menacingly.

Mr. Deacon just laughed before backhanding Faith across the face. She faltered and nearly toppled over, but quickly regained her balance after colliding into him. When she finally stood face to face with him, she had a big smirk on her face.

"Ooh, we've got a live one here, fellas," Deacon teased. "Sweetie, I've got a death warrant with your name on it."

"Guess all I've gotta do is sign it, huh," Faith teased back as she produced an ornate looking pen from her hands. She wiped the blood that was slowly trickling from her nose and smiled in satisfaction at the surprised look on Deacon's face. She smiled even bigger when she cracked the pen clear in two right before his very eyes. "Oops! A little tip, Deaky: never keep the important stuff in your front pocket. Someone with a history of pick-pocketing could take that shit right from under your nose."

Though Mr. Deacon surely looked perturbed, he was still very whole and not making with a puff of smoke dramatic final exit. He fixed his dangerous gaze on Faith and stepped toward her, magic sparking in the air all around him. Faith quickly got into fighting stance and looked down quickly at Dawn.

"I thought you said poof and he's gone!"

"I never said that, you did!" Dawn defended.

"Why the hell are we trusting me all of the sudden?"

Panic setting in as Mr. Deacon approached her, Faith lunged forward with both shards of the broken pen in her hand. She slammed her hands down, hoping to whomever was listening that she'd at least stun the guy so that Dawn could make a clean getaway. The shards landed right in Deacon's eyes, leaving him a twitchy mess on the floor before he finally stilled and poofed into thin air.

Magic began crackling in the air as the clipboard that Mr. Deacon was holding became engulfed in flames. The small pile of papers that were under the clip crackled and popped and turned into a million particles of fine dust.

The two guards, bewildered and scared, took off up the aisle and out the theater doors, leaving the group of women there to fend for themselves. There was nothing to ward off, however, except for a gold-tinted wind that swept over the dancers, tickling their skin and stealing their breaths before vanishing off to nowhere.

It took a moment or two for the women to collect themselves before they'd realized what had happened.

Their contracts had burned up. Mr. Deacon was dead.

They were free.

Faith wanted to stop and look at their excited faces, but instead she found herself at Buffy's side, checking her over.

"Hey, you okay?" Faith asked as she helped Buffy to her feet.

Buffy swayed back and forth for a moment, but she eventually got her bearings and smiled, embarrassed.

"Yeah. Guess I wasn't quite on my game there."

"My bad too. We shoulda known the guy had some wicked mojo. Coulda been better prepared," Faith admitted.

"Doesn't matter now," Buffy said with a smile. "You saved the day. Can't really complain."

She looked over Faith's shoulder to see Kitty standing there with her friends, who had all reverted to their proper ages. Seeing her smile, Faith turned around to see the smiling faces.

"Guess that means this is turning into an all senior revue, huh," Faith chuckled, earning a playful hit on the arm from Kitty.

"I don't know how you girls did it, but . . . thank you. Thank you so much, from all of us. We don't quite know how to thank you."

"You don't have to," Faith said with a smile. "Get out there and see the world. You've been stuck here long enough."

Most of the women offered up their final thanks and turned around to leave, but Kitty stood there for a moment longer, unable to express her appreciation enough.

"You girls make an excellent team," she said fondly. "Thank you, again."

Buffy and Faith looked at one another for a brief moment before hobbling off the stage together, letting Kitty help them along the way.

Dawn was left standing there in the theater, her hands on her hips.

"Doesn't anyone think people are gonna find it a little bit weird to see twenty old chicks walking around dressed up like show girls?"

* * *

The girls took a cab ride back to the Bellagio where they cleaned up and showered before heading back to Faith's place in Xander's car. It was nearly dark by the time they returned, but they could see lights on from the inside, a sure sign that Xander was still hanging around.

They opened the door to find him in the exact place they'd left him earlier in the day, but Andrew was sat at his side now yapping away.

Faith dragged Andrew into the area that was to be her office and closed the rotted door so that they could have some privacy.

"How'd it go?" she asked him as she leaned back against a decrepit old desk.

"The mission was a success. I narrowed it down to a Black Ford Escape or a Red Jeep Grand Cherokee. You can go there tomorrow and . . ."

"Just order up the Escape and let me know when I've gotta sign the papers. Now, uh . . . how's Xander doing? Any word from Anya yet?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Xander said that she shimmered in, got a little bit freaked, and left. I'm sure that she'll show up again soon."

And as if on cue, Anya shimmered in and nearly stumbled through a wall but instead slipped through Andrew and caught her balance. Andrew stood up straight and wrapped his arms around himself.

"I feel a little bit violated," he said.

"Yes, well . . . try having a lizard make his home in your hair and then see how you feel," Anya replied. She turned to Faith and noticed the bruises on her face. "Or try feeling like she looks."

"Thanks Ahn, nice to see you too," Faith said with a smile. "Where the hell have you been? Xander's been waiting here all day just tryin to catch a glimpse of you and ya go MIA?"

"Well what was I supposed to do? 'Hi honey! Here, let's have hugs and sex. Oh wait, you can't touch me!' Be real, Faith."

"I am real, Anya. Ignoring it doesn't make the problem go away. You need to deal with it," Faith explained.

"No I don't," Anya said, crossing her arms over her chest. "And stop being so reasonable, it's unnerving!"

"Do what ya want, but it's not gonna go away forever," Faith said before walking out of the room, leaving Anya and Andrew behind.

Andrew looked at Anya before quickly following Faith, leaving Anya completely alone. It wasn't long before Xander figured out what was going on, though, and stuck his head in the room to see for himself.

"This where you've been the whole time?" He joked as he walked into the small space.

"Well, no. I was hiding, of course. This is awkward and I was trying to avoid it."

Xander couldn't help but smile at Anya's frankness.

"God, I've missed you," he admitted. "The way you speak, the things you say . . . everything."

"I know. I'm quite exceptional, aren't I?"

"I . . . I never got to say goodbye, Anya," he said sadly. "You were there, and then you were gone. There were things I wanted to say, wanted to do . . . I was too scared."

"I know you were," she said quietly. "But I was too. We're both to blame for what happened in our past, Xander. Maybe you more than me, but . . . yes, we both had blame."

"I wish we could start over again. I would . . . I'd never take a single minute for granted. I'd give you everything you ever wanted," he said as he took a step closer to her. Unconsciously he reached up to touch her face, but his hand went right through her.

Anya shook her head, disappointed.

"As appealing as that sounds, we can't. I'm a ghost. A bad one at that. I fall through couches and floors, and lizards are attracted to my ghostly hair."

"I know, but . . ." he began, but Anya cut him off.

"No but's, Xander. There's no future for us, not like this. We need to accept that and move on," she said. She tried to sound as even as possible, but her emotions came out in the end and her voice hitched in her throat. Trying to hide the small slip up, she turned around and faced the wall, her arms crossed over her chest.

Xander reached out to touch her shoulder but pulled his had back as he realized he'd not be able to. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he turned around and made his way out of the room.

He wiped the tear away before the others saw him, but he knew they could tell how upset he was.

Faith was sitting on a chair with a few of the estimates for renovation that Giles had arranged before he left. Buffy and Dawn had been sitting on the old couch, but they quickly stood when they saw him coming.

"Hey," Buffy said, walking over to him. "How did it go?"

"Not so good," he answered honestly. "She can't . . . nothing can happen. I have nothing without her. I get to go back to LA to nothing."

"That's not true, you have us," Dawn said, walking up and resting her head on his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her gently, patting her back as he sniffled one last time.

"I sure do. I just wish . . . yeah. I just wish," he stopped himself there. "Listen, you crazy kids stay and have fun; I'll even leave you my car. I'm gonna hop a bus back to LA."

"What? No," Buffy said. "Stay with us. There's so much to do. We can't make things better, but we can at least try to help distract you. Excalibur has a Steak buffet for 21.95."

Xander laughed, but he wasn't falling for it.

"I appreciate it, Buffster, I really do. But then someone would think I was an actor from the Treasure Island pirate show and I'd have to sign autographs, and then I'd get famous and forget all of you. Couldn't do that to ya," he quipped.

Buffy smiled, but she could tell he was just covering up his pain.

"Are you sure you won't stay?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "There's nothing for me here."

Faith had watched the entire show play out before her, listening intently the whole time. She looked down at the estimates in her hands, then quickly and quietly crumpled them up and tossed them into another room.

As Xander hugged Buffy and Dawn goodbye and made his way to the door, she stood up and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Xan, I know my timing sucks and stuff, but I need a favor. See, I got this place now but I can't find any contractors willing to come out here and fix it up. They're too busy working on the big casino projects. Think you might be able to stick around, lend a bit of your construction guy expertise?"

Xander looked around the dilapidated old room and titled his head before looking back at Faith, a small smile on his face.

He'd been there earlier in the day when two contractors had come by, measuring things and leaving their quotes behind.

With a slight nod, he smiled and said:

"Yeah. I can do that."

"You sure? I mean, I don't wanna inconvenience ya or anything. It's a tough job and it needs lotsa work, but . . ."

"No, I'm sure. I think everything's gonna turn out just fine."

* * *

Meanwhile across town, three young men were headed back to their hotel after a long evening at a sport club. They'd had a few drinks and forgot to hit the bathroom on the way out of the club, so they sidetracked into an alley to relieve themselves.

As they stood there competing with one another about who could pee the longest and the furthest, a thick black smoke crept out from the darkness and began to twist and turn on top of the building next to them, transforming into a dapperly dressed gentleman with a large amulet embedded in his chest through his pinstriped suit.

The gentleman's eyes glowed red as he watched them, his fingers flexing and curling as he adjusted to his new form.

After a moment he ran his fingertips over the amulet and some of the black smoke spilled out. It twisted and turned and made its way down to the three guys in the alley, creeping into their bodies without them even knowing. Within the blink of an eye all three men stood up straight and sneered at one another, almost feral in nature.

As if in perfect synchronicity, they ran out of the alley and back onto the sidewalk, stumbling upon a middle-aged man walking alone. They surrounded him and laughed maniacally before diving upon him, kicking and punching and generally pummeling him into submission. When the man was nothing but a quivering mess lying prostrate on the ground, they stood up and took off, ready to find their next victim.

The dapper gentleman on the roof smiled and laughed before turning back into smoke and vanishing into the night once again.

_Roll credits._


	4. Episode 4: The Hardest Thing

Previously on Walk The Line:

_The gentleman's eyes glowed red as he watched them, his fingers flexing and curling as he adjusted to his new form._

_After a moment he ran his fingertips over the amulet and some of the black smoke spilled out. It twisted and turned and made its way down to the three guys in the alley, creeping into their bodies without them even knowing. Within the blink of an eye all three men stood up straight and sneered at one another, almost feral in nature. _

_As if in perfect synchronicity, they ran out of the alley and back onto the sidewalk, stumbling upon a middle-aged man walking alone. They surrounded him and laughed maniacally before diving upon him, kicking and punching and generally pummeling him into submission. When the man was nothing but a quivering mess lying prostrate on the ground, they stood up and took off, ready to find their next victim._

_The dapper gentleman on the roof smiled and laughed before turning back into smoke and vanishing into the night once again._

* * *

**Episode Four****: The Hardest Thing**

**Suggested music for the second to last scene at the abandoned building: **"**I Can't See New York" by Tori Amos**

"So he takes two of the gigantic horse pills every six hours and two of the little yellow pills every eight?" Faith asked as she read the fine print on the prescription labels once again.

The attending doctor smiled in amusement at her concern, despite the fact that he'd answered the same question two minutes before. And two minutes before that.

"Correct," he confirmed. "Make sure he takes the yellow tablets with lots of water, and also make sure that he changes the dressing on his chest wound every day after bathing."

"Got it," Faith said, though the slight furrow to her brow led the doctor to believe otherwise.

"He's going to be just fine with a bit of time and rest. I'll release him for travel after his check-up appointment in five days, and until then, just keep him off of his feet," the doctor concluded.

Faith merely scoffed.

"Yeah right. Rob's the second most stubborn person I've ever met, only after me of course. He wants up, he's gettin up, end of story."

"I am right here, you know," came a somewhat tired voice from just in front of her.

Faith leaned down and rested her elbows on the wheelchair's handles as she pushed Robin through the hospital and out the front door where her new truck was waiting for them.

"Tell me I ain't right though," Faith challenged, smiling. "If you can tell the good Doc here that you're not stubborn with a straight face on, I'll join a convent and call myself Sister Mary Bullshit."

Both the doctor and Robin laughed at that, but Robin tried to keep his breathing in check. Yes, he was injured, and yes he was getting better, but he lacked the slayer healing that came in so handy to his mother so it was taking him a while to get back to functioning normally.

He was determined to tough it out and get right back on track, but both Faith and the doctor insisted he take a ride in the wheelchair nonetheless.

"Is the wheelchair really necessary, Doc? I'm feeling better by the minute," Robin said as he looked up to the smiling doctor.

"Hospital policy, Mr. Wood. Ahh, but here's your ride, so you won't have to suffer the 'humiliation' any longer," the doctor teased.

"See? So no more complaining," Faith said as she wheeled the chair up to the passenger side of her truck and tapped the foot brakes with her boot. She opened up the front door and tossed the prescription bag across and onto her seat, then carefully helped Robin up and onto the passenger seat.

Robin sat back and settled in with a small groan, trying his best not to show his discomfort. He didn't want Faith to see him as weak, especially when he was trying to prove how strong and worthy of her he was.

Sure, she was resistant to his recent efforts, but he was confidant that he could show her that not all guys were jerks out for a good time.

"You okay there, New York?" Faith asked, concerned.

"Right as rain, Boston," he answered, his voice strained. "You ready to take me out for a spin in the new ride, show me the sights and sounds of Vegas?"

"Oh yeah, you defo look like you're ready for a night on the town," Faith laughed. "I'm takin' you home to rest, and maybe we'll talk about the guided tour once you're back on your feet."

Before he had the chance to argue, Faith gave him a winning smile and closed the door. She turned around and faced the doctor who was waiting patiently for the wheelchair.

"Hey, I know I told ya already, but I really appreciate all you did for him. He's a good guy," Faith said, feeling suddenly shy.

"And he's a very lucky man, both to be alive and to have a friend that cares as much as you do," the doctor commented.

Faith smiled again, but it fell away as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's the least I can do. Figured I owe him as much."

Without any further explanation, she walked around the side of the truck and opened the door, letting herself up in the driver's seat. She was about to put the car into drive, but a small cough from Robin stopped her. Looking over at him, she sighed loudly and reached for her seat belt.

"Thank you," Robin said.

"Yeah yeah," Faith grunted as she finally put the car in drive and made their way toward the exit. "Don't get used to it. I don't like anything pressing against my chest unless I invited it there."

Robin laughed, but he quickly corrected himself.

"I meant, thank you. For what you said to the doctor."

"Oh," Faith replied, unsure of what to say next. "Well . . . ya are a good guy. Can't fault me on that one."

"Guess I can't," Robin said, and they fell into a comfortable silence. After a few moments passed, he smiled and said, "Are we supposed to hug now or something? Braid each other's hair?"

Faith laughed and shook her head. She grabbed the bag of prescriptions from the center console and tossed it at Robin who was busy laughing at her reaction.

"Keep it up, buddy," Faith jokingly warned. "I've got a nerd and I'm not afraid to use him."

"You wouldn't."

"Totally would. Betcha any money Andy would _love_ to play nurse. He has a thing for costumes."

Robin just laughed, his hand held tight against the wound on his chest.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side.

* * *

The atmosphere was bustling with activity when Faith and Robin returned to her new place. Xander had a set of plans spread out over a saw table and was busy going over the intricacies of the new floor plan with two of his workers.

The two workers, of course, were Buffy and Dawn, who looked blankly at the drawings. Dawn eventually lost interest in trying to decipher the construction talk and knocked on Buffy's hard hat, instantly getting her attention.

"This vacation officially sucks," she complained loudly over the sound of a power drill in the next room.

"I'll make it up to you," Buffy replied. "When we get back to California, I'll take you to Disney World."

"Disney World is in Florida," Dawn said blandly. "You mean Disneyland, and I'm not nine years old anymore, Buffy. Besides, we'd get there and you'd probably make me pick up garbage or sweep the streets."

Buffy laughed at her sister.

"Dawnie, I know this wasn't what you had in mind when I said we were coming to Las Vegas, but Faith needs our help. Besides, once we leave, they're going to have to hire help, and you know how much Faith hates to spend money on things that don't involve fun or food."

"Consider the fact that we haven't spent any money on food or fun either," Dawn said before walking away from the table and into a room where Anya was taunting Andrew with a power drill.

"Is she okay?" Xander asked, looking from Dawn's retreating form to Buffy.

"She'll live," Buffy said evenly. "We'll be leaving soon, and then she can go back to being bored in LA."

"Buff, I can handle things here. You and Dawn should go do something fun. I hear Vegas has lots to offer in the fun department."

Buffy smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She focused on the prints, tracing her fingers lightly over the blue ink.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd really like to stay and help. It's been a while now since I've been a part of a team, and . . . I don't know. I think that Faith will really appreciate if we can get some of this place done as quickly as possible. Living in that motel can't be too fun."

Xander watched Buffy curiously, his interest piqued.

"Someone having a case of the guilties?" he asked, though his voice held no malice, nor even a hint of teasing.

Buffy shrugged as she recalled the last time Faith was condemned to live in a low-quality motel. Low quality was even too good of a way to describe it really.

"Maybe," Buffy admitted quietly. "There's lots of bad blood in our past – Faith's and mine. Mistakes were made on both sides. Maybe if we'd been friends first, none of the bad stuff would have happened."

Xander listened carefully, passing no judgment. He just wanted to understand so that he could help.

"So this is you trying to make with the friendship?"

"It's as good a place to start as any," Buffy said quietly, then looked up at Xander. "So . . . take advantage of your free labor while it's here. What needs to be done next?" she asked, smiling.

Xander looked around the room, his eyes landing on a heap of new drywall resting against a newly built wall.

"Well, those need to be taken upstairs," he pointed to the heavy sheets. "I think we've finished studding in the walls for two of the rooms upstairs, so drywall comes next. Just let me get Andrew to help . . ." Xander's voice trailed off as he watched Buffy grab one of the heavy sheets of drywall on her own and easily lifted it, then disappeared up the newly widened stairwell.

"Right. I could have done that," he said to himself. He laughed when he heard bickering in the next room.

"_Your threats are nil, ghostly messenger. You can't throw the drill at me if you can't pick it up."_

"_Well how do you know that I can't use my new powers to pick it up with my mind and throw it at you?"_ A challenging voice replied.

A moment later, Andrew walked out of the office area, covered in drywall dust and pouting.

"Xander? Anya's threatening me with power tools again," he whined.

"Grow some spine, man. She's a ghost!" Xander replied. He was about to continue when he noticed the front door open.

Slowly but surely, Faith and Robin made their way through the door, her standing behind him to make sure that he didn't lose his balance.

"You don't need to walk behind me like that, Faith, I'm not gonna fall over," Robin complained.

"How do you know I'm not just tryin to appreciate the view?" Faith joked as she closed the door behind them.

Robin turned and raised an eyebrow, glaring at her.

"Well now I know for sure that those pain meds make me hallucinate."

When he turned back around, Xander was there holding out his hand, giving him a firm handshake.

"Good to have you back in the land of the living," Xander welcomed, a friendly smile gracing his face. "It'll be nice to have some more testosterone around these parts."

"Hey," Andrew muttered, offended.

"I stand by my statement," Xander quipped.

Buffy chose that moment to walk down the stairs and instantly smiled when she saw Robin, despite his tired and weak appearance. She walked over and leaned up to give him a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, it's good to see you," she said evenly, stepping back to look up at his face.

"Likewise," he said and smiled. "And it'll be great to get back into a routine until the doctor gives me a clean bill."

He walked over to the saw table and looked down at the plans, instantly pointing and discussing with Xander.

"I don't think so, buddy," Faith interjected. "I told the doctor you were gonna rest, and you're gonna rest if it kills you and me both."

Giving Faith a dazzling smile, he walked over to a pile of two-by-fours and lifted two up, hiding his discomfort behind his smile.

"I don't need to be mothered, Faith. I feel fine and I want to help." He disappeared through the room, carrying the lumber up the staircase, passing Dawn on the way.

"I guess he's feeling better," Dawn mumbled, watching as he carried the heavy lumber up the stairs. Looking to Faith, she asked, "he's gonna end up back in the hospital, right?"

"No doubt about it," Faith answered, shaking her head. "Can't say I didn't try though. Like he said, he doesn't need mothering, and I'm defo not qualified to play that role. Shit, that's even too kinky for me."

"Ugh, gross," Dawn visibly shuddered. She quickly changed the subject. "So what can I do that's not terribly difficult or labor intensive?"

She and Faith looked around, their eyes landing on the pile of lumber.

"I guess we can take some of that upstairs. The less there is for Robin to carry, the less chance of him bleeding all over my new floors."

With a sigh, both girls shuffled over to the pile and loaded up, Dawn with one long piece and Faith with about eight.

They passed by a cheery-looking Buffy on the way up, who was bounding down the stairs to get another sheet of drywall.

The afternoon passed by fairly quickly, with the whole team working anxiously to make progress. Two of the four upstairs bedrooms were studded in and drywalled. They knew that they should hang more drywall in other rooms throughout the house first, but Faith was intent on spackling the walls and sanding those two rooms first. The quicker they could get the rooms painted, the quicker she and Andrew could leave the hotel they were still sleeping at.

Going back downstairs for a break, Dawn noticed Faith sitting on the saw horse table, her legs dangling as she chugged from a bottle of water.

"You're not surrounded by your usual cloud of smoke," Dawn observed as she jumped up on the table beside Faith.

"Quit," Faith said between chugs. "Back in prison, before I came back to SunnyD."

"Didn't I see you smoking in the basement on more than one occasion?" Dawn asked, one eyebrow raised.

Faith couldn't help but laugh.

"Observant, I'll give ya that much. Nah, that was just stress. I didn't inhale."

"I'm pretty sure I've heard that one before," Dawn rolled her eyes. "It didn't work for Bill Clinton, it won't work for you."

"Truth was, I didn't have my trusty rubber band," Faith said, pulling attention down to the rubber band on her wrist. At Dawn's confused look, she continued. "It was like my second year in prison and the warden got us all together, told us that some wealthy benefactor, a doctor or something at some local hospital, was sponsoring an anti-smoking program at the prison."

"Why would a rich doctor want to help prisoners when he could help . . . babies, or the elderly or something?" Dawn asked.

"That's what I thought at first, but hey, didn't wanna look a gift horse in the mouth, yunno? So I went down to the clinic and filled out my forms, I took my new nicotine patches back to my cell, popped one on my arm and let it do its magic. But that's when the nightmares started. I'd dream that there was something growin' outta my arm and stuff, real crazy shit. Turns out, I wasn't the only one. All the chicks using the patches were havin the same reaction."

"Weird."

"Gets even weirder. Angel came for a visit and I told him about it, so he had Wes do some research. Turns out the good doctor was actually some kinda black magic guru. The patches had some kinda parasite in them to suck the evil outta the inmates and transfer it to him."

"Oh gross!" Dawn exclaimed, instantly grabbing her own arm.

"Yeah. So I pretty much said fuck the patches and quit cold turkey after that. Nurse at the clinic told me that she quit by wearing a rubber band on her wrist and snapping it when she got a craving. You start to associate pain with the craving, so it's easier to fight it."

Dawn looked down at Faith's wrist and frowned.

"So why are you still wearing it if you already quit?"

Faith grinned.

"Keeps me on the straight and narrow, kid."

They were interrupted by Buffy, who came bounding down the stairs again.

"So this is where the slackers are hanging out. Grab another load and come up, we're taking votes for dinner."

Buffy casually turned around and leaned over, picking up another load. She was bent at such an angle that Faith got a clear view of her perfect little behind.

With her eyes glued to Buffy's backside, Faith reached down and started snapping her rubber band, hard enough that it broke against her skin.

Thankfully Buffy hadn't noticed before she made her way back up the stairs, but Faith looked over to meet Dawn's questioning gaze.

"You probably don't wanna know," Faith explained, a small grin on her face.

"You're right, I don't," Dawn admitted, hopping down from the table. She grabbed another load and made her way up the stairs, leaving Faith alone in the front room.

"Damn," Faith said, looking down at her now defunct rubber band. "That's the third today."

* * *

After a quick vote in which Faith decided to grant herself two votes and remove Andrew's completely when he suggested sushi, the gang decided to get Mexican. A large order of tacos, burritos, nachos and fajitas was placed, and Andrew found out the hard way that a negated vote meant that he had to go pick up the food.

He wasn't sure of Faith's logic, but at least it got him away from Anya and her hopefully empty threats.

Not even realizing exactly how much Faith must have trusted him to consider letting him drive it in the first place, Andrew drove Faith's truck along carefully, parking beside the restaurant in the safest spot he could find. He walked into the restaurant and purchased the food without much ado, then headed back out to the truck with a large box full of food in his arms.

The box was quite tall and hindered his view, so he hadn't even realized that he'd passed by Faith's truck until he heard a ruckus somewhere in front of him. Having learned the hard way to hide first and ask questions later, he quickly veered toward the nearest building and hid in the shadows against the wall, peeking over the top of the box.

The scene before him was puzzling, but Andrew knew that something bad was definitely happening.

A dark figure in a red suit was perched on top of a building, looking down at a few men loading electronics into the back of a truck. The men were yelling at one another to hurry up and get the truck loaded before the cops arrived, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched by two different individuals.

Suddenly the figure on top of the building smiled and touched a large amulet that was on his chest. Andrew noticed that it wasn't an amulet he was wearing around his neck; the amulet was embedded right into his broad chest.

A slow trickle of dark smoke escaped the amulet and crept down into the alley, surrounding the unsuspecting men. It only took a moment for smoke to drift into their airways, instantly affecting them. One man exploded in a burst of rage, throwing a flat panel computer monitor at the building. Another man looked on passively as he tried to lay down on the small lift on the truck. He wasn't safe from his friend's rage though, and Andrew had to hide his face behind the box as the rage-filled man picked up a large television and dropped it on the laying man, a sickening crunch of bone filling the air.

The third man who had been standing at the front of the truck, furthest away from the smoke, walked around the side of the truck when he heard the commotion. Eyes wide, he called to his friend, hoping to calm him down.

"Jesus, Tony! What the fuck did you do?"

Tony turned in an instant and reached out, grabbing his horrified friend by the front of his shirt. Though the man tried to resist, he was no match for Tony's brawn. He screamed and yelped as Tony took time bashing his head against the side of the truck until he'd finally passed out or died; Andrew couldn't be sure.

When everything went quiet, Andrew nervously peeked out over the top of the box again, hoping that he was safe. That he hadn't been spotted. What he saw shocked him.

The figure on the top of the roof stood at the edge of the building, caressing his amulet that was now glowing red. In an instant Tony began to shriek and choke as the smoke escaped his mouth and nose, lingering only for a moment before it rose back up and re-entered the amulet.

Tony fell to the ground, trying to catch his breath. That's when he noticed the pool of blood running from the truck lift.

"Fuck!" he spluttered. "Dan, I'm sorry! Shit! I couldn't stop myself. Oh fuck!" Confused and grief-stricken, he began to run from the alley way, leaving the carnage and gore behind.

The figure on top of the roof began to laugh menacingly, his eyes closed as the amulet glowed and surged with power.

Andrew took a step back, hoping to leave unnoticed, but his foot kicked an empty bottle, making the figure instantly look his way. Continuing to walk backwards, Andrew trembled with fear. The figure merely laughed again and yelled,

"Boo!"

Dropping the box of food, Andrew turned and ran to the truck, fumbling nervously with the keys as he tried to get inside as quickly as possible. Once inside, he drove away as quickly as he could, not stopping when the truck nicked the corner of a parked car.

The dark figure watched the truck speed away and focused his eyes, breathing in deeply. A familiar scent washed over him. It was faint; just traces lingering on the skin of the boy. But it was definitely there.

"Slayer," he grumbled, his eyes burning red.

* * *

Dawn busied herself getting the paper plates and napkins set up as everyone else washed up for dinner. They'd worked long and hard and were looking forward to their meal.

Robin was doing his best to keep up with the rest of them. He met them load for load, step for step, but there was no doubt that he was running out of steam now. Lounging back in a folding chair, he closed his eyes and rested, planning to do so until Faith and Buffy came back into the room.

His rest was cut short as Buffy, Faith and Xander came down the stairs together making light conversation.

"Can't believe I've got running water. Xander Harris: Contractor, Plumber, and Devourer of Much Pizza," Faith joked.

"You can add 'and Tacos' to that title soon. I like to be well-rounded," he replied.

They shared a laugh, but it was cut short when a panicked Andrew ran into the house, out of breath.

"Faith!" he gasped, bending down and resting his hands on his knees.

"You're missing something critical in the dinner department," Faith said with her brows furrowed as she made her way over to them. "My truck better be in top shape or I'm gonna . . ."

"Demon," Andrew interrupted, looking up at her. "Made some guy kill two of his criminal friends right in front of me. It was horrible."

"Whoa, where? How the hell did you get out alive?" Faith asked, her hand on his shoulder.

"Alley by Cinco de Mayo. I was hiding but he saw me. I drove away fast. Your truck might not be in the same condition it was in when I left."

Faith fought the glower she wanted to give him and instead grabbed Buffy's light jacket, tossing it to her across the room. They didn't say anything. Buffy followed Faith quickly out the door and no one knew where they were going until they heard the truck start and screech away.

"I'll order the pizza," Dawn said.

Andrew suddenly perked up, his ordeal seemingly forgotten.

"Call Pizza Plus. They have sushi too."

* * *

Buffy and Faith could see the large truck in the alley from the parking spot they pulled in to. They cautiously entered the alley, looking for any signs of apparent danger, but neither of their slayer senses were going off.

"What the fuck," Faith mumbled, looking down at the body on the truck lift with her face scrunched up in distaste. "Who the hell kills someone by dropping a TV on their head?"

Buffy was bent down near the body, inspecting it closely without actually touching it.

"It was a crime of passion. There's no pre-meditation here, Faith. Whomever did this didn't plan it. The robbery, sure . . . that was planned. But he didn't plan to kill his friends. Whatever kind of demon was here influenced him in some way."

"So what, we're looking for some kind of empath?" Faith asked, looking around the side of the truck at the second body.

"No, an empath can feel someone's thoughts and pain. They can't project thoughts or influence others."

"So what then? We run around town lookin for some sick fuck that gets his jollies making humans kill their friends?" Faith asked, frustrated.

"I don't know," Buffy admitted, shrugging gently. She stood up and wiped her hands off on the back of her jeans, then turned to Faith. "We're gonna need some help on this one. I can call Willow and Giles . . ."

"No, don't bother them," Faith interrupted her. "I'll call Andrew, have him get Anya on it. He's gonna have to call 911 too, someone's gotta come and clean this place up."

Just as she reached inside her pocket to pull out her cell phone, it started chirping quietly. Looking down at the caller ID, she saw that it was Andrew.

"Speak of the devil," she said before she answered. "Hey, listen up. Get Anya to go check with the Powers, see if they can give us some insight into what did this and why. Me and B are gonna come back and get some weapons, and then we're off to find the fucker and kill him. You're gonna have to call 911 too, make sure they know there's a crime scene here."

"_That I can do, but we have a slight problem_," Andrew said from the other end of the line.

"What kind of problem?" Faith asked tentatively.

"_Anya already went and came back. The Powers can't tell what kind of demon it is, but they said it's old magic. Really old, dark and powerful magic. She's already gone back to get more info about the demon or whatever it is, but that's not the worst of it_."

"Andy, I've got like zero tolerance for guessing games tonight," Faith sighed.

Andrew paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to send Faith off the deep end, but he knew it was bound to happen anyhow.

"_The Powers gave Anya a location, a place where they tracked the source of the magic. It's desolate and brimming with mystical power, and very likely a bad place for a confrontation. Imagine Luke Skywalker fighting Darth Vader in a janitor's closet."_

"An address? That's fantastic. I don't see where the problem is."

Andrew sighed and chewed nervously on his bottom lip, bracing himself for the storm.

"_Robin didn't think it was wise for us to wait until you got back to tell you about it. I told him I was going to phone you, but he was gone before I could dial your number_."

Faith paused, realization dawning on her.

"Tell me he didn't hear the address Anya gave you," she said, her face a mask of anger and impatience.

"_Heard it, wrote it down, and ran out before we could stop him. He has about a ten minute head start on you, thanks to his grand theft auto of Xander's car."_

"Shit!" Faith yelled, earning a concerned look from Buffy who had been staring at her the whole time. "Give me the address, Andrew. B and I will get over there, see if we can head him off. In the meanwhile, get on the computer and see what you can find out. Call Angel, call Giles, whoever. Just find out who this bastard is and how I can kill him."

Jotting down an address on a food menu she'd found in her truck, Faith quickly shut her phone and hopped into the driver's seat, Buffy following just a split second behind her.

"Think we can beat him there?" Buffy asked, obviously having overheard the conversation.

"That's what I'm hoping," Faith said as she quickly pulled out of the parking lot. "He's still injured so he's moving slower than normal, despite the hero act. Besides, we've got a satellite navigation doodad in here and he doesn't."

She handed the address to Buffy, who took a moment typing it into the Sat Nav unit. It only took a few seconds for the address and a map to appear on the screen, telling Faith the quickest way to get to their destination.

"It's about a fifteen minute ride out the highway. Way I drive, we'll be there in ten."

Though Buffy wasn't one to usually condone reckless driving, she knew that they were in a delicate situation. If they were dealing with a demon that infected people with some sort of essence, anyone who neared it was in danger.

"Better make it five. Robin already has a ten-minute head start."

Faith stole a glance over at Buffy before stepping harder on the gas, heeding her advice.

* * *

When they approached their destination, Buffy and Faith realized that not only was the street in the middle of nowhere but completely hidden unless you were looking for it as well. The address that Anya had provided was that of a decrepit old building; some kind of old-fashioned office or storage facility. It didn't look like it was abandoned, but it certainly wasn't regularly occupied.

And luckily for them, the building was the only one on the hidden street.

Faith pulled her truck off to the side of the road, far back enough from the building that no one inside would see or hear them approaching. She'd turned the headlights off a while back, relying on her slayer vision and the dim light from the stars to get them there safely.

She'd half expected Buffy to fly into some rant about safe driving practices, so she was shocked when instead Buffy sat silently in the passenger seat, keeping a watchful eye on the road as well.

They'd passed Xander's abandoned car roughly a quarter of a mile back, Wood obviously having the same idea about the element of surprise.

Faith exhaled sharply and shook her head as she thought about Robin again. What the hell did he think he could accomplish all alone, in his current condition, with no weapons or planning?

Sure, he was the son of a slayer, but that didn't make him invincible. It didn't even make him abnormally strong. The only thing it made him, Faith thought to herself, was a headstrong little boy who was still trying to walk around in mama's shoes.

She realized that her thoughts mustn't have been as secret as she'd hoped for when Buffy turned her head to look at her.

"We'll get Robin out of there and kill the baddie, Faith. We're slayers, it's what we do," Buffy encouraged softly.

Buffy and Faith had never really had a supportive relationship before, and despite their new and interesting sense of friendship, Faith was wondering what had triggered the change.

"Don't worry 'bout me B, I'm five by five," Faith replied nonchalantly. "I've got this sitch under control. What we need to do is worry about Rob. He's playin like he's He-Man, but a midget with a fly swatter could take him down right now."

The dismissive tone in Faith's voice immediately piqued Buffy's attention. She stared at her intently, watching the emotions pass behind her darkened eyes.

"I can worry about Robin and have enough room left to worry about you too, you know." At Faith's dry chuckle, she continued. "I'm worrying because I know you, Faith. You let emotions rule you. Your feelings for Robin might make you act rashly, and I don't want you to . . ."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Faith interrupted as she finally stopped the car and put it into park. "The only feelings I have for Robin right now are anger and a bit of rage. I mean, what the hell was he thinking?"

"I know, it was stupid of him. It doesn't matter now though. Get past it and focus on the task at hand. We don't know what kind of demon is in there, we're unarmed except for a couple of stakes, and we need to get Robin – and ourselves – out safe. Forget how angry you are for two minutes. And no matter what we see in there . . . remember the task. Get in, get out safely."

Faith waited patiently for Buffy to finish, her fingers clenched tightly around the steering wheel as she listened.

"You done?" Faith asked. At Buffy's hesitant nod, she continued. "Fantastic. Now here's the deal. I'm all about having you along for backup, B. Two slayers against one little demon? What's the worst thing that could happen? But if you think for one second that we're gonna get in there and I'm gonna let you tell me who to save and who to fight and how and when, ya got another thing coming. Now if it's cool with you, I'm gonna go and save Robin so I can kill him myself."

Faith opened the door and got out of the truck without so much as another word, leaving Buffy alone with her thoughts.

"Well of course that backfired," Buffy said to herself as she opened the door and hopped out.

She walked quickly to catch up with Faith, internally yelling at herself for once again managing to alienate Faith when all she was trying to offer was her support. Faith held out her arm to the side as she quickly stopped, effectively stopping Buffy's progress forward as well.

"Did you hear that?" Faith asked, her attention focused on the old brick building not more than twenty feet ahead of them now.

"Hear what?" Buffy asked, trying her best to concentrate and block out the sound of her rapidly beating heart. It was almost pitch black out, and even with her enhanced slayer vision, she still felt like she was walking into the unknown.

Just then, a whimper sounded from within the building.

"That," Faith indicated. "That's not Robin. Way too feminine."

"You saying I'm not in touch with my feminine side?" A deep voice boomed from behind them.

Both Buffy and Faith jumped, spinning quickly into a fighting stance. They came face to face with Robin who watched them, amused.

"You'd think you wouldn't be able to sneak up on a slayer, what with the enhanced vision and hearing," he mused.

"Jesus Christ, New York! You scared the shit outta me!" Faith exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. "You're not supposed to be sneaking up on us, you're supposed to be hog-tied in there waitin for us to save you – or even better, back at the office resting your tired ass."

"What, and let you two have all the fun? Doubtful. Like it or not, I'm an asset here, Faith. I can keep up with the best of them," Robin said smugly.

"Unless it's Spike. Pretty sure he wiped the floor with you," Buffy chimed in, just as smug. "He kicked your asset all over the place."

Robin gave her a hard look but quickly turned back to Faith.

"So maybe I'm not in peak condition right now, but I _can_ help, Faith. I don't know what kind of demon that thing is, but he's alone in there, no backup. But there's a catch."

"What, he's impervious to slayers and ex-principals?"

"No," Robin answered, his tone serious now, "he's got hostages."

Faith's face hardened, her eyes squinting as anger flashed through her.

"How many?"

"Two. They're tied up in the boiler room on the east side. Big boy's just standing around in the west side doing nothing. It's like he's waiting to be caught," Robin explained, his brow furrowed.

"You think we need to come at him from three sides?" Faith asked Buffy who had been silent for the most part.

"No, I think Robin and I should come at him direct while you go for the hostages. Get them out, get them to Xander's car, and then come back for us. I can handle the demon."

"Not a chance, B," Faith shook her head. "No way Rob's in any kind of fighting condition."

"I can hold my own," Robin said, but Faith completely ignored him.

"We both go for the demon, you and me. Ain't no way he's gonna get past two slayers. We distract him and Robin gets the girls out."

Buffy thought about Faith's plan for a few moments, staring into Faith's eyes the entire time. Finally she shook her head, breathing deep.

"I don't like it, Faith. He's waiting there for something, someone. I don't think it's wise for us to be together. It leaves Robin wide open and completely vulnerable."

Robin didn't bother to protest, he knew they weren't even paying attention to him by this point.

"He's only gonna be fifty feet away, B. He gets in trouble, one of us can jet over and help out."

Buffy thought it over again and again, and each time she liked the idea less and less. Faith and Robin didn't seem to be willing to budge though, so Buffy held up her hands in mock surrender and conceded.

"Good. Robin, you wait for us to engage, then you get in and get out. No stopping to fight, no nothing. Get in, get the girls, get out." Faith's voice was firm, fully in charge of the situation now.

"I'm on it," Robin answered and jogged off to wait at the east entrance.

Slowly but surely, Buffy and Faith made their way to the west entrance, looking around the whole time to make sure that there were no surprises lurking in the dark for them. Confident that it was just them and the demon, Faith put her hand on the large steel handle and pulled, walking into the vacant room confidently.

"Welcome, welcome," the demon greeted, his smooth southern accent a surprise to Faith's ears. "I've been expecting you."

"Yeah, well, I hate to disappoint," Faith said through a cold smile.

Buffy chose that moment to walk in behind her, instantly drawing the attention of the demon.

He stood there in the middle of the vacant and dim room, eyes glowing a fierce red as he studied his foes. The color of his eyes perfectly matched the color of his suit, his double-breasted jacket making him look the perfect gentleman. If not for his charcoal black skin and the intricate silver designs carved into both sides of his face, he might almost pass for human. He caressed the amulet in his chest gently as black smoke swirled and twisted around within it.

"Ahh, two. Yes, I forgot that there are thousands of you now. Cockroaches, a scourge on the earth," he said, venom in his voice despite his confident smile.

"That's right, thousands of us," Buffy said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Taking down more of your kind every single day. Guess we'll add to that number tonight."

The demon laughed, making Buffy furrow her brow in confusion.

"My kind? Honey, there's no such thing. I'm one of a kind, a true diamond in the rough."

"Yeah, and I bet mommy told you every day that you were a real special boy," Faith said, the corners of her lips tugging up in an arrogant grin.

Robin chose that moment to sneak into the east door, running along unseen until he reached the two women who were bound and gagged against a large iron pipe.

"Shhhhh," he whispered as they began to struggle. "I'm gonna get you out of here, but you need to stay quiet." Both girls nodded, tears streaming down their cheeks as he began to untie their bindings.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Faith continued their slow approach on the demon, closing the distance inch my agonizing inch.

"Special is right," the demon continued, taking a long pull on the cigarette that suddenly appeared in his black hand. When he exhaled, the smoke came out black instead of white. "You've never seen anything like me before, babies. And when the end is here . . . they'll be screaming out my name in a reign of bloody glory."

Faith stopped her approach, taking a moment to chuckle loudly.

"You hear that B? Sounds to me like we've got another apocalypse freak on our hands."

"He's not the first, won't be the last," Buffy said evenly, her eyes never leaving the demon's face.

"The First? The First?" The demon asked incredulously, letting his cool slip for the first time. "Don't even get me started on that sissy. Come barging in here when things were already chaos, claiming to be responsible for the evil in the world. But oh . . . how close you are in your assumptions, slayer."

By this point, Robin had freed one of the girls and was busy untying the second, urging the first girl to remain calm. However, when she caught sight of the demon across the building, she panicked and ran for the door causing a ruckus as she flailed wildly.

Buffy and Faith began their approach again hoping to distract the demon, but it was too late. He'd already heard – and seen – the girl running for the exit.

"The First?" The demon asked again, distracted. "You ain't seen nothing yet. He's the one that got the motor started, but I'm the one that's gonna drive it home."

Close enough to the demon now, Faith lunged at him, hoping to catch him off guard. Her hands closed around air though as the demon suddenly disappeared, leaving a trail of black smoke in his wake.

"Where the fuck did he go?" Faith asked, fanning the smoke away from her face with her hands.

Both she and Buffy spun around looking for signs of him, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Hurry up, Rob!" Faith shouted as Robin struggled with the last of the second girls bindings.

"I don't like this, Faith," Buffy said quietly, her arms up and ready to strike out in a moments notice. Her eyes widened as she looked around the building. "Oh, I don't like this at all."

Faith turned and followed Buffy's gaze, instantly noticing the reason for the scared expression on her face. The building was full of barrels of fuel. It was a fuel storage facility.

They simultaneously looked across the room to where Robin was standing, watching as the second girl was finally freed. Just as he stood up to follow the girl out the door, the demon appeared in front of him, knocking him to the ground with monstrous force.

As Buffy and Faith ran over, ready to fight, the demon grinned and held his cigarette to his thin lips, taking one last puff.

Buffy's eyes widened and she grabbed the back of Faith's jacket, stopping her from going forward any more. She began to pull her backwards and out the door, but Faith struggled every inch of the way, her eyes locked on Robin's as he lay in pain on the ground.

"Let me go!" Faith yelled as she twisted and wriggled, trying to free herself from Buffy's death grip. She stared down at Robin, her arms reaching out to him, trying her best to get to him.

Robin shrieked in agony as the demon kicked over the enormous steel pipe the girls had been tied to, knocking it over like it was made of air right onto Robin's legs. Robin tried his best to wriggle free, but he was pinned.

A look of peaceful resignation crossed his face as he looked up into Faith's wild eyes.

"Get out of here!" he yelled, his voice hoarse.

"Faith, come on!" Buffy practically screamed, doing her best to pull the unmoving slayer from harms way.

Faith's eyes flicked from Robin to the demon who watched on in amusement.

"I'll see _you_ real soon, sweet pea," the demon drawled before, as if in slow motion, flicking the cigarette towards an opened barrel of fuel.

It had been planned from the beginning. An elaborate trap to see and size up the slayer. He knew she wouldn't be coming alone.

Faith tried one last time to free herself from Buffy's iron grip, but it was useless. Buffy managed to pull her the last few steps and out the door just as the lit cigarette teetered on the edge of the steel barrel, finally plummeting in just as Faith's eyes left Robin's.

And then there was only brightness, fierce heat licking at her skin as they flew backwards into the cool night air, Buffy's arms never leaving her as they tumbled into the unknown. The loud screeching in her ears was loud, almost unbearable from the moment of absolute silence she'd felt right before the explosion.

It was only later that she learned that the screeching sound piercing her ears was coming from her own throat as she screamed in agony, knowing that she'd failed . . . again.

* * *

The atmosphere in Faith's office was unbearably somber.

The fire commissioner hadn't been able to find a body. "Instantly incinerated," he had said, and told her she'd have to file some paperwork at city hall to get a certificate of death.

She wouldn't believe, couldn't believe that he was gone. That she'd let him go so easily. Couldn't ignore the fact that Buffy had tried to warn her, but that she'd gone ahead with her plan anyway.

That it was only because of Buffy that she wasn't mixed up in the charred remains of that building now.

Faith sat in the unfinished office behind a large desk Xander had custom built for her, her head resting in her hands. The burns on her hands and face were healing fast – much faster than she wanted or deserved. She wanted to feel the pain, wanted to feel her skin cracking and peeling, a punishment for her poor decisions.

She wanted to feel something more than the sting of guilt in the pit of her stomach, telling her that she shouldn't be here, shouldn't have people depending on her. She wanted them gone, didn't want the responsibility anymore. But more than she wanted them gone, she wanted them to stay. Part of her knew that if she was alone, the pain would be more than she could handle.

It was a catch-22. She couldn't explain it. Then again, she reckoned that she'd always been a bit fucked up in that regards.

She didn't look up as she heard a tentative knock on her door frame, no door yet in place.

"Can I come in?" Buffy asked quietly, not waiting for a reply before she walked into the room slowly, cautiously.

She sat down on a small folding chair, her eyes focused on Faith. Buffy could feel Faith's grief rolling off of her in waves, but she knew that there was nothing she could do, nothing she could say.

Their relationship had always been tumultuous. It seemed like every time Buffy opened her mouth, Faith was taking offense and things would go from bad to worse. She had to say something now though. She couldn't be silent any longer.

"It's not your fault, you know," Buffy tried.

Faith laughed darkly, her head never leaving its resting place on her hands.

"Faith, Robin was a grown man. He made the decision to go out there without even knowing what he was up against. Those girls are alive because of him. Because of us."

It took a moment, but Faith finally looked up, a disparaging look upon her face.

"At what price? Was it worth it, Buffy?"

Buffy was silent. There was no right answer here. Everything she could come up with was wrong, because sometimes there was no right answer when someone was grieving.

"It shoulda been different, B," Faith said, her eyes moving to some random point over Buffy's shoulder. "You never shoulda been there, Robin never shoulda been there. It shoulda been me."

Buffy couldn't help but scoff.

"What, so then you could have taken his place? People die, Faith. It's horrible and unfortunate, but it's a fact. We put ourselves in danger day after day, night after night . . ."

"Save it," Faith said blankly.

"What?" Buffy asked, confused.

Faith knew what she was about to do was wrong, but she couldn't risk having Buffy there with her any longer. If Buffy had died . . . God, Faith couldn't even bear to think it. She would never be able to live with herself if she'd let anything happen to Buffy.

She had to make her leave, even if it meant hurting her.

"Save it," Faith repeated, her voice cold and empty. "You think you can just waltz in here after you retire, telling me how to feel, how things happen?"

"Faith, I'm not trying to . . ."

"Shut up," Faith interrupted. "I don't need the great Buffy Summers in here with the rah-rah-sis-boom-bah's every time poor unfortunate little Faith fucks up. You really wanna help? You'll get the fuck outta my hair."

Buffy's face was unmoving, her jaw tight as Faith tried to drive a wedge in between them yet again.

"So this is how it's gonna be then, huh," Buffy said, her voice quiet. "Something horrible happens and instead of leaning on your friends, you push them away. Is that really how you want this to be, Faith?"

Faith took a ragged breath, holding in angry tears as she finally looked at Buffy's face, her jaw clenched tight.

"That's exactly how I want this to be," she said, teeth clenched.

Buffy looked at her for a long moment, waiting to see some flicker of doubt or remorse, but there was nothing. Only emptiness. A void.

"Fine," Buffy concluded, standing up. "Good luck, Faith. By yourself, you're gonna need it."

She walked silently through the doorway, leaving Faith alone to wallow in her own self pity and grief. Faith rested her head back in her hands, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, pushing her rawest emotions back down.

"Bye, Buffy," she whispered, too quiet even for Buffy to hear it. In the next room over, she heard Buffy tell Dawn to get her bags, they were leaving. Faith silently thanked whoever was listening, happy that Buffy had taken her advice.

She listened to the sounds throughout the building until there was only one person left, his tentative footsteps lingering just outside her office.

"You can come in," she said blankly, her flushed face resting on the cool wood of the desk now.

Andrew stepped into the room and sat down where Buffy had been a short while before, choosing over his words carefully.

"Xander took Buffy and Dawn to the bus depot. He's going to go out tonight, give you some room to breathe."

Faith sighed and lifted her head from the desk, then leaned back against the chair. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly looking smaller than Andrew had ever seen her.

They sat silently for a while, Andrew not sure that any words would be good, but positive that just another person around might help.

Faith finally spoke up, her gaze off in the distance somewhere.

"Whoever said 'the hardest thing is saying goodbye' got it totally wrong."

"They did?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah. Try never gettin to say goodbye at all."

_Roll Credits_


	5. Episode 5: No Shoes No Shirt No Progress

**Note: **I'm honestly blown away by the positive feedback and emails I've gotten on this fic. You guys are awesome, and I'm so happy you're enjoying it so far. :) Things will start to get interesting in the next episode, for sure.

**Suggested music is listed at individual scenes.**

* * *

Previously on Walk The Line:

_Faith finally spoke up, her gaze off in the distance somewhere._

"_Whoever said 'the hardest thing is saying goodbye' got it totally wrong." _

"_They did?" he asked tentatively._

"_Yeah. Try never gettin to say goodbye at all."_

* * *

**Episode Five****: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Progress**

Andrew paced in front of the newly installed bay window, anxiously looking back and forth between the empty driveway and the clock. Xander was busy cutting pieces of trim moulding at the table saw, but even he now and again glanced from Andrew up to the clock.

The sun was setting, which meant almost another whole day had passed without hearing from Faith.

"Might as well go and give yourself a break, Andrew," Xander said after he turned the loud saw off. "You'll make big with the crazy if you keep playing the waiting game."

Andrew turned and looked at Xander, then went over and flomped down on the plastic-covered sofa that had been delivered the day before.

"The waiting game sucks. Scrabble is so much better."

Xander chuckled despite himself.

"I don't think Faith would appreciate it if she came back and found us in the middle of a backbreaking Scrabble battle."

"_If_ she comes back," Andrew added weakly.

"She will," Xander affirmed quietly, fumbling around with the stained wood pieces in his hands. "She's been here to sleep, we know that much. Whatever grief she's feeling . . . let her get it out of her system. When she's ready, she'll be back to herself."

"If this is what grieving looks like, I'd hate to see anger. She made that wall look like a giant piece of Swiss cheese before she snuck out yesterday," Andrew said, nodding over at the newly plastered wall closest to her office.

Xander looked at the wall, then back to Andrew.

"Believe me when I say that you do _not_ want to see Faith angry. There's Leatherface angry. There's Freddy Krueger angry. And then there's Faith angry. It's a whole new brand of scary. I don't suggest being around for that."

"Being around for what?" came a gruff voice from the front door as it opened slowly to reveal a battle-worn Faith. Bruises and scrapes marred her exposed arms and face, her tank-top nearly shredded to bits.

"Whatever war you just fought in," Andrew replied, his face scrunched up in concern as he took in Faith's appearance. "I thought Las Vegas was a relatively neutral zone, all tucked away safely within the U.S."

"Holy monkey!" Xander exclaimed as Faith turned around to hang up her car keys on a hook, showing a large gash across the back of her right shoulder. "I could be wrong, but I don't think pieces of you are supposed to be hanging off like that."

Faith looked back over her shoulder and noticed the large and gross wound.

"You're probably right. Score one for the Construction Guru," she answered blankly, but quickly changed the subject. "Sorry bout that wall yesterday. You're doin a bang-up job here, Xan, the place looks great. What's the status on the rooms?"

Xander visibly relaxed, though he kept his eyes far from her torn up shoulder. If she was asking about the remodeling, she was likely planning to stay. Besides, he had lots of news to report; her week long absence saw lots accomplished in the way of remodeling, as he and Andrew had been busy focusing on work to stop from worrying about her. They had hired a few laborers as well, so even Xander was pleased with their progress.

"Your bedroom is done – but I'm sure you noticed that by now. You can take care of the deco stuff; I didn't trust Anya's suggestions of pink and lilac. Andrew's room is done and he's been doing the deco stuff himself . . ."

"I have a bunk bed in case I ever have friends visit," Andrew chimed in excitedly, but quickly piped down at the questioning look from Faith and Xander.

"One of the guest rooms is nearly done, I just need to finish installing the trim and the light fixture. Your office is done but mostly unfurnished – I'll leave that up to you. Bathroom is in full working order thanks to our new plumber friend Guido, and appliances are being delivered for the kitchen tomorrow. Only room left is the last guest room. The basement remains a lizard haven. It keeps Anya in line."

Faith's eyebrows raised a bit as she looked at Xander in disbelief. She'd expected the remodeling to take two months, not a handful of weeks.

"Color me impressed. Am I paying you guys overtime?"

Xander smiled a true Xander smile, just happy that Faith seemed to be okay despite her physical condition.

"Andy and I are happy to help, though the laborers did get a base wage. I know we wanted to avoid that, but with Buffy and the Dawnster gone, and . . ." he stopped himself, not wanting to bring up unhappy memories, but it was too late. Faith's face had darkened immediately as he'd stopped speaking.

"No probs, Xan. Pay them what ya gotta, we can swing it." She turned and looked at Andrew, who was grimacing at her wounds still. "When was the last time you ate, Andy?"

Andrew looked up at the clock and thought about it for a moment.

"I'm totally ready for a snack break. I get low blood sugar and it's been about four hours . . ."

"Good," Faith interrupted and tossed him the first aid kit. "Can't have you yakkin your lunch all over me when you're sewin up my shoulder. Let's go."

She turned on her heel and headed for the stairs, leaving a wide-eyed Andrew staring at the first aid kit in his hands. When she was out of sight, Andrew looked up at Xander, nervous.

"What I'm about to admit can scar my wholesome image forever, so I have your word that you won't repeat it? Ever?" At Xander's nod, he continued. "The only class I ever got a 'C' in was Home Ec. The cooking was easy, but they made us sew together these little stuffed toys. My Yoda looked like a full on combat donkey, complete with scars and stitches."

Xander fought the laugh that was trying to escape from his throat as he looked at a truly terrified Andrew.

"Just don't make her look like a donkey and I'm sure it'll be fine," he said, trying his best to be comforting.

"Yo, Andy! You need a special invite? Let's get this freakshow on the road." Faith yelled from upstairs.

Andrew stood, trying his best to control his shaking knees, and made his way solemnly up the stairs, first aid kit clutched tightly in his hands. Xander finally laughed when Andrew was out of earshot.

"Ahn?" he finally called out once he'd finished his laughing.

A shimmer of light filled the room and then Anya was standing there, looking anxious and tired.

"She's back," Xander said, a soft smile on his face.

Anya sighed loudly and nodded, looking much more relaxed.

"I'll let them know."

Without another word, Anya shimmered out like she'd never been there in the first place.

* * *

Seventeen stitches and a long, hot shower later, Faith stood in her room, watching her reflection in the large mirror as she got dressed. There were dark circles under her eyes. Her bruises and scratches were in various states of healing. The split lip she'd had was barely noticeable now, similar to the pain from the two ribs she'd broken a few nights before.

When she was finally done dressing, the worst of her mostly-healed wounds covered under her clothing now, she stood as still as can be, unable to move her gaze from her own reflection.

There was no doubt about it in her soul – if she still had one, that is – she hated herself. Hated everything about who she was, about her decisions, about her ability to get things done and protect those she cared about.

She was resigned to the fact that she'd never be good enough.

Her prison shrink had told her that she needed to get past her own self-hate, as it was the most self-destructive thing in her world, but she couldn't help but to feel it again. She came to Las Vegas for a new start; to make up for her past if that was even possible, and to help people along the way.

But since she arrived, she'd managed to get Robin killed and estrange Buffy yet again. She couldn't see that Robin's decisions had been his own. Couldn't see the good that she'd done. She could only see the glaringly bad; what was staring her back in the face from the broken image in her mirror.

For a week she'd been on a rampage, killing every demon that had crossed her path. She'd lost the control which she held so dearly now. It was like she was back in the same place she was years earlier, pounding on vamps for fun before putting them out of their misery.

There was no fun involved though. She'd had a plan in mind: find out about the new big and bad evil, then find him and kill him. But the local demon population had either been too stupid to give up the info or completely in the dark about his presence, because not a single one of them had given Faith anything useful. Pleas for help, cries of agony, sure. They'd begged, swore vengeance, and eventually gave in to the fact that this crazy, wild-eyed slayer would be their end.

Demon after demon, vampire after vampire fell under the grips of Faith's wrath. After a week of the same deal day after agonizing day . . . Las Vegas was starting to look like a safe place again.

Well, except for the whole violent criminal thing, but Faith had given up the business of killing humans.

None of it had mattered though. Every drop of blood spilled, every bead of sweat shed . . . it was all for nothing. She was no closer to the demon who had killed Robin now than she was a week before. No one had heard of him, and it was as if he'd up and vanished without a trace.

Maybe it was all a dream. Some evil nightmare that played over and over in her mind on a loop. But you were supposed to be able to wake up from nightmares, and Faith was still living in hers day after day.

Faith took a deep breath and sighed, finally lowering her eyes to her body.

Leather pants? Check. Black shirt? Check. Shit-kicker boots? Check.

With her armor in place, she put her tough-girl mask back on and made her way downstairs to face the world again.

* * *

All eyes were focused on Faith as she finally made her way into the front room, oblivious to the stares as she checked out the progress they'd made.

"Everything looks killer, Xan. Anything you need me to do?"

She was anxious to busy herself with something – anything – to take her mind off of all the bad.

"Actually, we were thinking of calling it quits for the day. We've been burning the midnight oil . . . and the morning oil, and the afternoon oil, come to think of it . . . and well, there's supposed to be an oil crisis in the world, right? So we were thinking that the three of us could hit the town, get some grub, see a show, try our chances with Lady Luck. Sound like a plan?"

Faith wanted to be optimistic, but she knew she couldn't go out and have fun when there was a demon out there somewhere turning men into monsters and killing the innocent.

With a fake smile planted firmly in place, she did her best to sound okay.

"That sounds awesome, and I totally think you two should go a live it up. I won't even harass you about the whole man-date thing. We've all been there, done that. Think I'm gonna pass though, if that's cool."

Xander frowned, ignoring Andrew's "See? I told you."

"We'd really like to have you with us, Faith. You need a break. You can't keep running ragged, chasing down whatever demons cross your path. It's sad, and it sucks to no end, but what's done is done. You can't make it better by . . ."

"I'm not trying to change the past, Xan," Faith interrupted, running a hand through her long hair. "That's pointless and I know it. But I can't sit back and do nothing while some psycho demon like I've never seen before gets his jollies out by killing innocent people. Besides, you know me – overworked and underfucked."

Xander regarded her for a moment, ignoring her crude joke. Andrew watched them both as they stared one another down.

"Okay," Xander finally conceded. "No sitting back then. We work – together – but you've gotta stop running off thinking you can do it all alone. We're here for a reason."

Faith sighed again, frustrated.

"I can't have you all in the middle of this. I couldn't watch _his_ back, I can't watch yours," she explained, unable to say Robin's name. She barely took notice of the shimmer in the room as Anya entered. "This _thing_ out there? He's bad news. I'm not gonna be able to do my job if I have to watch you guys get mowed down one after another, got it?"

Xander closed the distance between them until they were face to face. Faith didn't back down; instead she waited for what he obviously was about to say.

Bringing his hand up to his face, Xander pointed to his eye patch.

"I'm no stranger to being in the fray. I've been there, done that, lost more friends and eyes than I care to talk about. But you don't see me running away, do you? No, you don't. I can be fray-adjacent and still help, Faith. So put us to use. Me, Andrew, Anya . . . tell us what we can do."

It wasn't something Faith was used to . . . people wanting to be around her without wanting something in return. They didn't want fame or glory or money or even sex. They just wanted to be of use. Something more than the helpless roles they thought they'd filled in the past.

Knowing that is wasn't a fight she was going to win – they'd help one way or another whether she wanted them to or not – Faith sat back on the couch and sighed, giving in.

"There's nothing any of us can do," she muttered. "Been chasing after the demon for a week now and no one knows a thing about him. It's like he appeared outta thin air and disappeared like a fart in the wind."

"Fart talk. Amusing. I feel like I'm back in Xander's basement watching him play video games, but without the amusing cartoon violence," Anya chimed in.

"What do the Powers have to say about it all?" Faith asked, turning to face Anya.

Anya shrugged, looking as frustrated as ever.

"They either don't know or they won't say. All they can tell me is that his magic is very old and very dark. They're scared. A darkness is coming and they don't know what to do about it."

"You'd think they'd give a girl some kinda heads up, yunno?" Faith asked.

"Well, they've tried. Things aren't as easy as it seems though."

Faith furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

"What's up?" she asked, knowing that a bombshell was about to be dropped.

"Willow's spell screwed up the connection between the Slayers and the Powers That Be," Andrew explained. "I've spoken with Giles and he's confirmed it. The Powers are sending slayer dreams, but it's like the energy from the scythe caused some kind of mystical power surge that knocked out all of your satellite dishes. The dreams are out there, bouncing around with no one receiving them."

"So the slayers are operating without any sense of precognition? How do we fix it?" Faith asked.

"We don't," Anya interrupted before Andrew could start up again. "The Powers are looking for another outlet, but until then they're sending out random liaisons. You're very lucky that I died. You could have ended up with someone much worse, like Spike. He was sent to Angel, but he's too busy scheming ways to be corporeal again to be of any help."

"Spike's back?!" Faith and Xander shouted, and a gleeful smile appeared on Andrew's face.

"Well, yes. The Powers are getting desperate. You should just be grateful that you got the best. I excel at everything that I do. You'll be pleased with me," Anya said with a self-approving nod.

"Lucky me," Faith replied, winking at Xander who merely smiled at Anya's show of self-confidence. "So they don't have anything else to give me? No pointers, nothin at all?"

"Zip," Anya answered with a shrug. "Every time I go up there they're running around in their little white robes in a tizzy. I think they're in the dark as well. They know something bad is on the horizon; they're trying to keep one step ahead of it."

"That tells me absolutely squat," Faith said and exhaled loudly. "I was better off pummeling baddies. At least some of them pretended to know something."

"Maybe I should contact Mr. Giles again, see if he has any more information," Andrew said. "We've been in contact with him since . . . last week. He's promised to offer his resources to help research whatever bad guy we're up against."

Though Faith was still getting used to the whole 'people helping her' thing, she gave Andrew a nod and he went into the kitchen to make his calls away from the discussion in the front room. Minutes later when he re-appeared, all eyes were on him.

"He doesn't have any more to tell us about our bad guy, not yet. They're looking into mystics and oracles, though. If there's an oracle on our side, we won't need the prophetic dreams."

"And until then?" Faith asked, but Andrew didn't answer.

The answer was clear: they needed to sit and wait.

"You know," Anya began after a few moments of tense silence, "it's a real shame that the Powers fell out of favor with Jil'hanesh. An oracle like that could come in extremely handy now, especially given her proximity to us."

The room went silent again as all eyes moved slowly to Anya.

"The who with the what?" Faith asked, her brow furrowed again.

"Jil'hanesh," Anya repeated again. "She's an oracle – or should I say he? It's always so hard to define these divine beings. They switch sexes on a whim. It can be quite unsettling when you've been invited to their birthday parties and you just don't know _what_ to get them."

"And she lives near here?" Xander asked, his eyes intense.

"Yes. For now, anyway. She's particularly fond of Las Vegas because she has a keen interest in human interaction. You fascinate her. Surely she'll move on in the future, but her last known location was here."

"And you only thought to tell us this now because?" Faith asked, standing up and readying herself to go. Finally a solid lead that she could go on!

"While I was blessed with a fantastic body and this extraordinary brain, I wasn't given the ability to read minds. I wasn't aware that you were looking for an oracle, Faith. Just the demon that killed Robin," Anya answered nonchalantly. Only when she saw Faith's face darken did she realize that her words were a misstep.

"I have an idea," Faith said, her voice much colder now. "How 'bout you do your job and work on finding out where this Jill person is so I can do _my_ job?"

She moved to the door, about to leave, when Anya stopped her.

"Well that's the easy part," Anya continued, unaffected by Faith's words. "Jil'hanesh has always liked to study the human form in . . . well, in it's most basic and carnal state."

"And that means?" Faith asked, both eyebrows raised now. She looked over at Xander who was grinning from ear to ear.

"She's a stripper!" Xander said excitedly, making a logical and correct assumption.

Faith looked to Anya, who merely smiled proudly at Xander and nodded. She couldn't ignore the smile that was fighting to appear on her previously angry face. Letting out a small chuckle, Faith looked over at Andrew.

"I need you to go to that website you were at last week, the one when you were trying to plan a day trip for you, Buffy and Dawn. Get me the names and addresses for as many strip clubs you can find in the area. The dirtier, the better. I have a feeling our girl isn't parading around in no classy places, but I'll check 'em out too. Email me the list to my phone as soon as you get it, I'm gonna go get a head start."

Andrew went to his laptop computer and immediately started his research.

Faith turned to walk out the door but was stopped by an arm that shot out from the side, blocking the door. Looking over at him, she saw a mischievous smile on his face.

"Hold up, captain. There's no way I'm staying here with the nerd and the ghost while you go out and have strip club fun," he said, "I'm with you tonight."

Faith was about to protest, knowing fully well that having another person with her would just slow her down, but Andrew cleared his throat, getting her attention.

"Just an FYI – lots of these clubs require a gentleman to escort ladies into them. It's supposed to stop angry wives and girlfriends from going in and creating a scene," he explained, an apologetic look on his face.

Faith sighed, knowing that he was right.

"Fine. Xan, you're with me. Just so we're clear though, there will be no lap dances, chicken wing eating, or drinking. We get in, we look for our pal Jill, and we get out. Ya clear?"

Andrew cleared his throat again and Faith winced as she looked over at him.

"Some clubs also require the immediate purchase of a beverage. Make sure you take money with you."

Shaking her head in frustration, Faith grabbed her keys and walked out the front door before Andrew could give her any more bad news.

Xander quickly pulled out his wallet and thumbed through the bills before looking back and forth between Anya and Andrew excitedly.

"Do either of you have any singles?"

Anya narrowed her eyes at him and Xander flinched back, remembering what that look had meant in their dating days.

"Nevermind. I can just get change later. Or never. No big deal. You know what? Why don't I just leave my money here."

He quickly tossed the small wad of cash on the table and ran out the door before Anya could find a way to kick his butt.

* * *

"Just a small loan?"

"No."

"Twenty…..Fifty dollars. I'll pay you back double when we get back to the office."

"You left your money at the office? With the money-loving ghost? Bad call, slick. No way is it gonna be there when we get back."

"Please?"

"Don't make me leave you in the car, yo."

Xander finally gave up his whining and shuffled along behind Faith as they walked up to the first club they'd stumbled upon. They could hear the music as they approached the front entrance. The smell of standard bar food wafted through the air as they opened the door and Xander whimpered pathetically.

Once they passed through the entrance – fee waived thanks to Faith's flirting with the bouncers -- they walked into a big room with all kinds of crazy lights around. There were several different bars throughout the large room, all of them fully stocked and serviced. There were girls walking around in their barely-there clothes, smiling and flirting with whomever caught their eye.

Faith was the perfect picture of calm, a sense of determination about her that kept her focused.

Xander, however, wasn't doing so well.

"I am totally, completely, and absolutely over-stimulated," he said, his one good eye wide as he looked around the room.

Faith looked over at him and took a casual step away.

"You keep your stimulation to yourself, buddy."

Xander glared at her, but she was already looking around the room again, trying to come up with a good plan.

Faith wasn't sure how she was going to go about finding the oracle. It wasn't like she could exactly walk up to the dancers and ask if they were some kind of mystical seer. Not without buying a dance first at least. Hell, half of the girls would probably say yes just to get something extra out of her.

She was holding out hope that she'd be able to sense a mystical presence of some kind.

"I don't even know where to start," Faith grumbled under her breath, her eyes focusing on several different girls throughout the room. "How the hell am I supposed to find this chick?"

"Easy. Observe. Excuse me, Miss?" Xander said with a grin as a rather tall and strong-looking waitress walked by with a cocktail tray in her hands. When the girl stopped and turned, Xander continued. "If I was to ask you to look into the future, would you see you and I together?"

Faith's frown turned into a cocky smirk and she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting patiently.

"Honey, for a hundred bucks, I'll see anything you want me to," the waitress replied, her voice much huskier than expected. And was that an Adam's Apple bobbing around in her neck?

Xander's eyes widened when he realized that the girl was not so much a girl at all.

Faith laughed loudly and nodded her head once at the waitress who winked at her before moving along.

"You just hit on a dude," Faith laughed.

"Gah!" Xander blurted, holding up his hand to stop Faith saying anything further. "Just . . . shh. Not another word. No one has to know."

The look of sheer terror on his face was priceless and Faith couldn't stop the laughter erupting from herself.

"But I'll know," she said, trying not to laugh. "And every time I think of you, I'm gonna see you mackin on the huge 'chick' with the big hands. Yunno what? I think he appreciated your 'stimulation'."

"Oh god," Xander moaned, a somber look on his face. "You're gonna tell Anya, aren't you?"

Faith regarded him for a minute before she finally calmed down enough to give him a reassuring smile.

"Secret's safe with me, man. And hey, maybe when we're done tonight, we can go to one of those clubs with the Village People impersonators . . ."

"I'll be in the car," Xander interrupted and quickly turned around and made a mad dash for the exit.

Faith watched his quick retreat, then focused back on the task at hand. Glancing around the room, she felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle. Her eyes immediately picked out the source of the tingles: a vamp sitting at a private table near the stage. She casually made her way over to the table and flopped down in the seat next to him, earning an immediately unwelcoming glare.

"Private table," he grumbled, his attention moving back to the dancer on the stage. "Get lost."

Faith watched the dancer too, pretending to be interested.

"You gonna make me, bloodsucker?" She felt his eyes move to her then, but she remained the perfect picture of cool and indifferent. "Ever hear of a slayer?"

Before the vamp could get up and run, Faith grabbed a fork from the table – he'd been enjoying a blooming onion – and quickly plunged it into his upper thigh, out of view of anyone in the club. The vamp shrieked in pain, but Faith looked over at him and gave him a warning glare to keep his mouth shut.

"What do you want?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Answers mostly. You answer truthfully and with the info that I need, you walk outta here on your own two legs and not in the dust bin. Get the drift?" At the vamp's tense nod, she continued. "Goodie. I'm lookin' for an oracle, Jil'hanesh. Heard of her?"

The vamp hesitated and shook his head no, but Faith didn't believe him. She twisted the fork, feeling his flesh rip underneath it.

"Heard of her?" she asked again.

"Yes!" The vamp cried out.

A dancer walked by at that moment and took notice of them, Faith with her hand under the table and the vamp calling out, looking all tense.

"You can't do that out here," she scolded, thinking that something frisky was going on. "Buy a dance or take your boyfriend home to finish up." She stomped off, walking over to one of the bouncers near the stage exit. He turned his eyes towards Faith and the vamp, smiling appreciatively before putting on his business face.

"'Kay, looks like we've got about sixty seconds before we get tossed outta here. Tell me where I can find the oracle or I'm the only one walkin out alive. Or un-dead. Whatever."

The vamp grimaced as Faith continued to wriggle the fork ever so subtly, keeping him completely subdued.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you. Jil gets around, doesn't like to stay in one place for too long," he said and groaned loudly.

"What do you mean?" Faith asked impatiently.

"Jil likes to study human interaction. Part of that is a constant influx of new people. Thing about clubs like this is the customers take a liking to certain ladies and they become regulars. Not too interesting to study human interaction if it's always the same people, ya get my drift?"

"Yeah, I get it," Faith said, her eyes narrowing. "So where'd she go?"

"Who the fuck knows? I only come to this joint. Got a thing for Jessamyn," the vamp said with a crude smile, nodding his head toward the stage.

Faith looked up to the stage at the dancer, her long brunette extensions dancing across the skin of her back as she shimmied out of her top. Jessamyn peeked over her shoulder at the vamp at winked at him, and he did his best to reach into his pocket and pull out a bill, tossing it casually up onto the stage.

"I don't really know how much help ya been, buddy," Faith said, not taking her eyes off of the dancer.

"Oh, come on! I told you everything I know."

In a move so quick the vamp couldn't have avoided it if he'd been expecting it, Faith pulled the fork from his thigh and stabbed it into his hand, pinning it to the table. She looked up and saw a bouncer curiously making his way over, so she knew she had to make it quick.

"Now you know I'm obviously not fucking around," Faith warned as she scooted closer to him, getting right in his face. "Where is she?"

"I don't know!" The vamp cried out, his free hand gripping around the fork. "Try the Spearmint Rhino, she hasn't been there in ages!"

Faith smiled, satisfied at last, and pulled the fork from his hand. He immediately pulled his bleeding hand back and clutched it against his chest, looking at her with wide eyes.

"There. Now was that so hard?" Faith got up from the chair and went to the stage, dropping a couple bills down for Jessamyn. The dancer smiled at her and winked, earning an annoyed grunt from the jealous vamp.

Faith began to walk away, but stopped at the last moment and turned around, brushing past the bouncer who was following her out of the club. She leaned down and placed her palms on the table in front of the vamp.

"This is my town now. Better believe I'll be watchin you."

* * *

"I'm just gonna wait out here," Xander said miserably.

Faith wanted to let the guy have a break from his personal humiliation in the first club, but she knew that she actually needed him now.

"Andrew's text message said they make chicks have a guy with them in this club. I need ya, Xan."

"Why, so I can sniff out all of the cross-dressers for you?"

"No, cos you're my wing man," Faith answered with a grin. "Come on, it wasn't that bad. And I mean it, I'm not gonna say shit to Anya or Andrew, got my word on that. Hell, I'll even let ya get some chow in this one if ya want, my treat."

"Really?" Xander asked, his voice hopeful as he finally looked over at Faith.

"Slayer's honor. So come on . . . ya in?"

Xander answered with a smile and a nod, and the two finally got out of the truck and made their way into the club. Faith reluctantly paid their entrance fee seeing as that the guy at the door wasn't having any of her flirting. Obviously, this place was a step up from the last.

They were greeted by another large room with a central sloping stage and literally a couple hundred people packed into the place. The music was loud and the lights were low, but that didn't distract Faith from looking around with determination. Xander fidgeted at her side, hoping that she'd come through with her promise.

Reaching deep into her pocket, Faith pulled out a few bills and gave them to Xander who smiled like a kid in a candy shop.

"Go order yourself some food and find a table somewhere. I'll meet ya in a bit."

"You're not coming?" He asked, his voice hopeful that maybe Faith would relax and have a bit of fun.

"Not yet, got some business to tend to first."

Making her way through the various servers and guests, Faith checked almost the entire place out, eyeing up each dancer that she passed in hopes that there'd be some sort of mystical beacon flagging her in. Of course, that was too much to ask for. Not a tingle, not a hum, not a single sign that one of these girls were the oracle.

Just as Faith was about to give up and call Anya for help, she felt a small tap on her shoulder.

"Cheating boyfriend?"

"Huh?" Faith asked as she spun around to see a beautiful dancer standing there. Her hair was long and blonde, not of the bottled variety, and her dark brown eyes stood out in beautiful contrast to her otherwise fair features.

"No? Cheating girlfriend then?"

"I don't think . ." Faith began, but she was interrupted quickly.

"You just have that look in your eye. You're here to find someone, and possibly not in a good way. Right away I opted for angry boyfriend. It's why we have the 'ladies must be escorted by a gentleman' rule. The less crazy girlfriends we have coming in here looking for their honies, the better," the girl explained.

"Oh. Well, it's nothing like that. I'm not exactly the controlling type. If I had a honey and they wanted to come here, we'd be together havin a great time," Faith answered, her furrowed brow relaxing when she realized the dancer was just making small talk.

"Oh? Maybe I can interest you in a dance then. One song for twenty, or three and a private booth for a hundred?" the dancer tempted, flashing her best smile.

Faith couldn't help but smile, happy to feel a bit of her old confidence coming back. Still, it wasn't why she was there. She had a job to do, and as hot as the girl was, Faith was all about resisting temptation.

Giving her rubber-band a quick snap, Faith replied, "Not that you're not gorgeous – cos ya totally know ya are – but you're not exactly my type. The only hot blonde I'm after comes with a side of suppressed anger and hate directed right at me."

"Guess I'm off the list then. I only just met you, and I'm not angry with you at all. Certainly not enough to hate you." She laughed a bit, then held her hand out to Faith. "I'm Camryn."

"Faith," Faith answered, taking Camryn's hand in hers and shaking it gently. "And I totally don't mean to blow you off, but I'm lookin for someone in particular. Seriously though, total hottie. I'll be kickin myself when I walk outta here later."

Camryn laughed again and leaned back against a booth, observing Faith's face.

"Hmm," she pondered, tilting her head to the side a bit as she studied Faith a bit longer. "Well, you're not a vamp. You don't smell like a demon, but looks can be deceiving. I'm gonna venture a guess and say . . . witch?"

Faith narrowed her eyes a bit, on alert now, but she was oddly comforted by the cool confidence and non-confrontational manner in which Camryn approached the subject.

"Slayer," Faith offered hesitantly after a moment passed. She quickly turned the tables though, not willing to give up any more info until she got some in return. "Now it's your turn. Ya know about vamps, demons, witches. Pretty much knew I was here lookin' for someone. Are you her?"

"Her?" Camryn asked. A split second later, it dawned on her. She knew who Faith was looking for. "Oh. _Her_. No, I'm not who you're looking for, I'm sorry. Jil'hanesh was through here quite a while back, and as you may or may not know, doesn't usually repeat locations unless she's really bored."

"Shit," Faith muttered under her breath. Another dead end. Shaking her head in disappointment, she asked, "So what are you then? How do you know about the things that go bump in the night?"

"Me?" Camryn asked, smiling again. "I'm just your average everyday human who's seen it all. Working in a town like this, well . . . we see all kinds. Some of us are just more observant than others."

"I see," Faith replied, trying to hide her surprise. It wasn't every day that you stumbled across someone who knew about all the bad stuff in the world and took it with a grain of salt. But still . . . "Before I jump to makin assumptions, I gotta ask . . . you're not a bad guy, are ya? Cos I mean . . . been there, done that; tryin to sever the ties."

Camryn laughed and crossed her arms over her more than ample chest.

"Well, that depends on how you define 'bad'. Ask any one of those Christian hot-heads what they think of me and my job, and well . . . I'm damned. But mostly I just live my life and try to keep out of the way of the bad stuff. Better to know your enemy and avoid him then have him sneak up on you all unsuspecting-like. Besides, helping out the good guys such as yourself? Makes me all warm on the inside."

Faith couldn't help but laugh. She instantly liked this girl. There was something about her that made Faith feel at ease, even when she was supposed to be upset at finding another dead end.

"Speaking of helping out the good guys, you wouldn't happen to know where I can find our good friend Jil, do ya? I'm gonna be lookin forever if I gotta check out every nudie bar in the greater Las Vegas area, and I gotta say . . . totally not that patient."

Faith watched as Camryn took a few seconds to think it over, but she wasn't expecting much. Hopefully Andrew and Anya had some more info for her.

"Well, I don't know where you'll find her, no. Jil'hanesh tends to favor the more seedy places because you get the most, um, _interesting_ people there."

"That's a start," Faith said, grateful for the tidbit. "Anything else?"

"No," Camryn said sadly. "I'll keep an ear out though, see if any of the clients here have heard anything. You'd be amazed how much humans and demons alike reveal during a lap dance."

They both laughed, Faith burying her hands deep in her pockets.

"I can imagine. Maybe I'll find that out someday," she replied, a mischievous smile on her face. Flirting came so easy for her sometimes, especially when she was at ease.

Camryn watched Faith's face, a small smile appearing on her own. It was a tentative smile, as if she didn't believe Faith's words. She had some innate ability to read people, and she knew that Faith's attention was only for one girl. The other blonde she'd mentioned.

"We'll see," Camryn said evasively.

She flagged over a waitress and grabbed a pen and cocktail napkin from her tray. Quickly scribbling on the napkin, she handed it over to Faith as casually as possible. She knew she was breaking Club rules, but she somehow felt this was important.

"That's the number to my cell phone. Call me in a few hours, I'll see what I can dig up before then."

Faith looked down at the crumpled napkin, then back up to Camryn's face.

"Ya don't gotta do this, Cam," she said, the nickname slipping out without her realizing it. "I don't want ya getting in trouble or anything just to help a stranger out."

"I have a feeling we'll be getting to know one another, Faith," Camryn replied. She gave Faith one last smile before turning and making her way through the crowd.

Faith watched her walk away, her head tilted to the side as she appreciated Camryn's partially revealed and perfectly smooth backside. She whistled long and loud, then laughed at herself and went off to find Xander. He'd never believe that she'd had a conversation with the hottest girl in the place, and she was prepared to rub it right in his barbecue sauce-covered face.

* * *

**(Suggested music: Rev 22:20 by Puscifer)**

Faith and Xander sat in the truck leering warily at the club just across the way. It barely looked like a strip club, let alone a habitable building. The only sign that it was a club at all was the flickering red sign that read "Live Nude Ladies!"

Faith groaned aloud.

"You sure I really need to check this place out, Andy?" Faith said into her phone.

"You said you wanted seedy. According to the websites, this one is the seediest. It's the Kiwi of the seedy clubs."

"How seedy is seedy?"

"Well, when asked about the quality of their – ahem – ladies, I quote, the girls aren't the best in Vegas but there are a couple pretty ladies."

"Great," Faith groaned again. "You guys might wanna have some antibiotics ready for us when we get back. We might need 'em."

Faith clicked her small phone shut and slipped it into her jacket pocket.

"This is gonna be awkward, isn't it?" Xander asked.

"Oh yeah. You got the stuff?"

She looked over at Xander to see him clutching a small plastic bag from a store they'd just stopped at.

Reaching into the bag, Xander pulled out a small bottle of anti-bacterial hand cleaner. He clutched it tightly to his chest and looked at Faith, his eyes wary.

"Let's go," Faith said, steeling herself.

When they walked into the club, it was everything they'd expected from the description. Everything was old, from the seats to the patrons, even to some of the dancers. Xander grimaced as he noticed the dancer on the main stage. He appreciated real boobs as much as the next guy, but when they started pointing down at the floor, it was a sign to retire.

Faith walked around the small room trying to keep her cool, but it was way too uncomfortable. The other clubs had been so packed that she blended in with no problems, but with the scarce crowd here, all eyes were on her and Xander as they walked around.

They finally stopped at the bar where one or two older gentlemen were having a drink, oblivious to their presence. The bartender winked at Faith, but she blew him off and rested her back against the bar, gazing out into the room.

"I can't sense anything," Faith said. "Powers That Be give us a way to feel the bad guys, but we gotta search out the good guys with a map and compass."

"Maybe you're reading the wrong map," came a voice from behind Faith. She turned around to see the bartender leaning on the bar just behind her, butting in on their conversation.

"Oh, and I bet you've got the right map, right?" Faith asked, her voice a warning. "Listen buddy, quit while you're ahead, I ain't interested."

The bartender stood up straight and lifted his hands in mock surrender, slinging his bar cloth over his shoulder.

"Hey, no harm no foul. Just thought that with you looking for me all night long, it might be nice to finally throw you a bone," he said easily, a smug look on his face. "By all means, continue your _fruitless_ search."

Kiwi. Fruitless. This guy knew that they were coming.

"Jil'hanesh?" Faith asked, eyeing him up and down in disbelief.

"In the flesh," he answered as he briefly curtsied.

"Little different flesh than I was expecting," Faith admitted. She never thought to look for a non-stripper, let alone a man.

"Well, what can I say?" he asked, leaning back down on the bar again now that Faith was less aggressive. "I like to switch it up sometimes. Besides, place like this? You get the best people at the bar with their back to the stage. They always have the best life story."

Faith looked over at the two men who were sitting at the bar, her mind stretching to create some kind of elaborate history for them, but she couldn't get past their sad and worn exterior.

"Those guys? 'Best life story?' Can't say I see it," Faith admitted.

Jil'hanesh looked over at the men, then back at Faith and Xander and leaned in a little bit closer.

"One of them is going to go on to do great things. He's got a talent for making people better. And the other, well . . . he doesn't know it yet, but he's the one who's gonna put an end to that all with an envious rage. Two fates intertwined, yet they meet here when they're not even on the same path yet. It's amazing. They could become friends tonight, bosom buddies, but still . . . their paths will cross down the line, and one will die."

"So why can't you stop him?" Faith asked, looking angrily at the two men, trying to figure out which one was the doer.

"I have nothing to do with fate. I have no sway over their free will. I only see. The same way that I see why you're here," Jil'hanesh said, his voice suddenly becoming serious.

"So you know I'm not just here for a Cosmo and a lap dance," Faith joked, but Jil'hanesh didn't smile.

"You've never dealt with evil like this before, honey. Vamps, demons – they're all saints compared to this."

"We beat The First," Faith offered. "That was some pretty big bad. How much worse can it be?"

Judging by the face Jil'hanesh made, Faith knew it was worse. A lot worse.

"The First Evil was intent on creating a world of evil. Man existed. The First was intent on creating a world so bad that evil would rule. It wanted power, more than even it was capable of grasping."

"And how is that different from this guy?" Faith asked, trying to cover the way her voice wavered ever so slightly.

"This evil isn't intent on creating; it's intent on destroying. It's not the First; it's the Last. The Final Evil. It doesn't want the world; it wants its power."

Faith's jaw clenched tightly, her eyes locked on Jil'hanesh's. He wasn't lying, nor was he exaggerating. This was bad, and it would probably get a whole lot worse before it got better, if it ever could.

"B – the other slayer – she stopped demons trying to end the world more times than I can count. Why can't we stop this guy?"

"Because he won't do it himself," Jil'hanesh answered, then took a deep breath. "Man has changed since the beginning of time. You're darker, more corrupt. This evil will use man to destroy one another. It doesn't need lackeys or help when you all will do it yourselves. And it won't be waiting for a nuclear holocaust one hundred years from now. It was brought forth by the inherent evil in man, and now that it's had a taste, it wants more."

"What do you mean?" Faith asked, cautiously.

Jil'hanesh kept his eyes locked on hers, a pained expression on his face.

"When you were in prison, you were assaulted by dark magic. Not just you, but all of the inmates there. Inmates in prisons across most of California."

"The patches?" Faith asked, her hand coming up to rub the spot on her arm where the fake nicotine patch once was.

"Yes. The man who gave the patches – the black magic guru –he knew what he was doing. He didn't want the evil for himself; he was using it as a means of summoning It. The Last Evil. The vampire with a soul took care of the guru, but it was already too late. The Last Evil is here, and it won't rest until it succeeds."

"There has to be a way to stop him," Xander said after a long stretch of tense silence. "This is what we do, we fight the bad guys. Right, Faith?"

He looked over at Faith who was staring at some random point across the bar now. Her body was tense, her eyes ablaze with anger and frustration, but underneath it all was a look of guilt. Like she believed this was in some way her fault.

"Whether or not you were in prison, this would have happened," Jil'hanesh said, reading her body language perfectly. "The guru began the chain of events, and now The Last is overseeing a virtual chess game, using man as pawns to do evil. Sin is his game; he infects people with his evil and waits for them to do bad. Envy, greed, glutton, lust, pride, sloth, wrath . . . it's how he does it."

"The seven deadly sins," Faith interrupted, a distant look on her face.

"And they're deadlier than ever now," Jil'hanesh finished. "Once infected, the host – the person – acts out, blackening their soul. When The Last retracts the evil, strengthening himself from its power, the host . . . well, the host doesn't make it."

Faith's eyes darkened and finally met Jil'hanesh's again.

"You see things, right? So you gotta know how to stop it. Tell me what you know."

"I've told you what I know. I have nothing to do with fate. Your heart is true and you mean well, I can see that much, Faith. But this is not something I can help you stop, because I don't see a way to stop it."

"So what do I do?" Faith asked through clenched teeth, eyes brimming with angry tears. "Sit back and let him win? That fucker killed my friend right in front of my eyes. I'm supposed to be dead. But here I am, alive and kickin and not able to do one god damned thing to stop this douche from doin it to everyone else I know."

"You won't sit back," Jil'hanesh said confidently. "More help will come. You will fight with every last breath in your body. This much I see. I don't see this being stopped, but if anyone can do it, it's you and your friends."

A pregnant pause followed before Faith finally pushed off of the bar and turned around to leave.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence," she said angrily.

"Faith," Xander began, trying to get her to reason or to calm down, or simply to walk her back from the edge.

It was useless though. Faith was already half way to the exit and wasn't looking back.

"Faith!" Jil'hanesh called out. He watched as she slowed down, then as she eventually stopped, not looking back at him. "There will come a time to fight, to be strong. Until then, take time to do the things you should do. _Mourn those you've lost._"

Faith quickly turned around, looking him in the eye. He continued, his voice sincere.

"Give him more than the cold hard vengeance that drove his life. He's deserving of a proper send-off by those he was close to."

Faith looked at him for a good long while, her body slowly losing some of the tension. Nodding her head in understanding, she looked to Xander, then walked out of the exit.

"Wow," Xander said, blowing out an exasperated sigh. "Heavy stuff."

"Very much so," Jil'hanesh replied. "Keep an eye on her, Alexander. She'll let her anger get the best of her and we'll all suffer for it."

Xander looked at him warily, wondering if that was friendly advice or an ominous warning. With a nervous nod of his head, Xander quickly made his way to the exit, hoping beyond hope that he'd never have to face Angry Faith again.

* * *

**(Suggested music: Epiphany by Staind)**

"Umm, I don't think this is such a good idea. I have a weak stomach."

"You're not gettin' outta this, Andy. I already bought the tickets."

"I'll happily refund you the cost of the . . ."

"Don't make me gag you."

Andrew's bottom lip stuck out in a small pout as he let Faith usher him through the line with her hands on his shoulders. Xander followed along behind them, eating a gigantic slice of New York style pizza. Even Anya was there, lurking somewhere where no one would have the opportunity to touch her.

Explaining her non-corporeal nature in public was more of a chore than any of them were willing to deal with.

They finally approached the front of the line, the large metal cart waiting for them with it's ominously scary straps and harnesses.

"This is worse than Anya torturing me with the power saw," Andrew whined as the attendant helped him into the seat and with the confusing straps.

"Don't worry, bud. Xan's gonna be next to you the whole time, that large slice of pepperoni pizza churnin around in him the whole time," Faith teased.

"Your words fail to comfort me," Andrew replied back. "Oh god, I think I'm hyperventilating."

Faith smiled as she got into the cart behind Xander and Andrew, strapping herself in without the help of the attendant. She was a pro at this kinda thing. One of the attendants started calling for a solo rider to sit next to Faith, but she asked him if the seat could remain open.

She hoped someone would be there with them in spirit.

After a brief rundown of the rules, the operator hit a lever and the roller coaster took off from the small bay, sending them off into the dark Vegas night.

The last day or so had been rough since Faith had talked to the Oracle. She'd spoken with Giles and anyone else who would listen, but still she felt helpless. Like she should be doing something that she wasn't.

Still, she heeded Jil'hanesh's advice and took the others out for a night to celebrate Robin's life; the time to fight would come later. She'd gone to the only place in Las Vegas that made sense to her: New York, New York. They'd had dinner, drinks, done a bit of goofing around, and now it was time to ride the roller coaster. Robin used to talk about his visits to Coney island when he was little. This was the best that Faith could do to remember him they way he would've wanted.

The small cart climbed the hill, Xander whooping and hollering in excitement and Andrew moaning in fear. Faith laughed as she watched them in the cart in front of her, just happy to see them having a bit of fun.

Well, Andrew might argue about the 'fun' part, but at least it got him out of the office.

The apex of the hill neared and Faith closed her eyes, waiting for the moment of weightlessness. The moment where the weight of the world on her shoulders disappeared again and she was just another girl in the world, even if only for two seconds.

She held her breath and smiled, her stomach dropping as they plunged down the deep hill.

Two seconds, just another girl.

It was a good feeling.

_Roll credits_


	6. Episode 6: Something In The Air

**A/N: **Just trying to get some fics caught up here that have been updated elsewhere. Hope you enjoy it. :) Edited for sexual content; unedited version can be read at my website if you're of age where you live.

* * *

Previously on Walk The Line:

_The apex of the hill neared and Faith closed her eyes, waiting for the moment of weightlessness. The moment where the weight of the world on her shoulders disappeared again and she was just another girl in the world, even if only for two seconds._

_She held her breath and smiled, her stomach dropping as they plunged down the deep hill._

_Two seconds, just another girl._

_It was a good feeling._

**Episode Six****: Something In The Air**

The sound of a table saw in the next room drifted through the closed door of Faith's office, not even catching her attention as she sat back with the phone to her ear, listening to it ring again and again. After listening to the saw for weeks now, it barely fazed her anymore.

Besides, all of the major work was done now. All four bedrooms were re-drywalled and painted, the kitchen was fully functional, the front room was decked out with the new furniture and entertainment center, even though it was still covered in plastic.

There was no reason for sawdust to mess everything up, especially when Faith just made Andrew clean it up when he got anxious to see everything set up.

Xander was just putting the finishing touches on the new bathroom they had decided on downstairs off the front room. They were all sick of Andrew suddenly needing to pee any time one of them needed to shower or use the toilet.

The place looked great, much better than expected given its previous state, and was more than spacious to hold Faith, Xander and Andrew, and even Anya whenever she happened to be around. Still, Xander felt he needed his own place, so he returned to his newly leased apartment every night, leaving Faith to fend for herself against Andrew.

No one knew exactly where Anya was at night. Maybe mystical ghosts slept on clouds?

After a few moments of steady ringing, a voice finally spoke on the other end of the line. A much less British voice than expected and a whole lot more female.

"_Hello?"_

Nope, definitely not who she was expecting.

"…B?"

"_Oh, hey Faith. What's up?"_

Casual. Conversational. Like Faith hadn't been an asshole and thrown her out the last time they saw one another.

"Umm . . . nothin. Did . . . did I call the wrong number? Andy did some kinda programming dealy on my phone and I think the phonebook is all fu . . ."

"_You let Andrew touch your phone?"_ Buffy interrupted, disbelief in her voice.

"Yeah, did a good job too. I think, anyways. I have no idea how this hi-tech shit works. All I know is, I get in trouble, I hit '007' and he tracks me, sends Anya, and she beams me up to Skippy or whatever."

"_I think you mean Scotty,"_ Buffy corrected, stifling her laughter.

"And I think you spent too much time with the nerd back in Sunnydale," Faith replied, smiling now.

"_To answer your question, you've got the number right,"_ Buffy said, quickly changing the subject_. "I'm at Giles'. He's been swamped with the whole research thing, so Dawn and I have been helping him. Well, Dawn's been complaining about old book smell, and I've been helping."_

Faith chuckled. Typical Dawn.

"So what, being The Retired One wasn't working? Now you wanna be The Special Helper One?"

"_Special Helper One. It has a nice ring to it, but I think I'm just gonna stick with 'Buffy' for now."_

"Fair enough," Faith replied, then things got quiet for a moment. "Hey, listen, you know that I can be an ass, right?"

"…_you're baiting me, aren't you?"_

Faith laughed. "Nah, I just wanna apologize. I wasn't in a good place, and . . ."

"_Hey, no explanations, okay? I've been there, done that, understand how it works. Just . . . don't kick me out so soon next time. Dawn is still mad that I never took her to see the Blue Man Group. I'm paying her back by letting her practice driving my car. It's . . . painful. She's worse than I am, and that's saying a lot."_

"I don't even know if that's possible," Faith quipped. "But, yeah . . . totally wont' kick you out next time. That is, if there is a next time."

She couldn't hide the hopeful tone in her voice. Yeah, she'd asked Buffy to leave. She knew she was wrong now; Buffy didn't need protecting. She was just as if not more capable than Faith Besides, something inside of Faith was screaming at her to see Buffy again, to be close to her.

Like the way it always should have been. Plus, it seemed like maybe Buffy was of the same mind on the subject these days.

"_Probably sooner than you expect. Giles has some documents and books he wants you to have, and so does Angel. He says hey, by the way."_

"Oh. Hey." Faith said, confused.

So Buffy had asked Angel for help? Maybe she was a bit more involved in the research game than she'd initially let on.

"Anyhow, Giles doesn't trust a courier service with the goods, so you're looking at the hand-picked slayer-sized courier. I'm supposed to leave tomorrow evening after the work-day commute. And speaking of Giles, he's clearing his throat and giving me a disapproving glare, so I guess he needs to speak with you."

"You could always ruffle his feathers a bit, pretend like you don't see him. Hey B, how 'bout those Red Sox?"

Buffy laughed awkwardly and Faith could almost imagine the look on Giles' face as Buffy continued to keep the phone hostage.

"_Actually, my socks are white today. In fact, I don't own any red socks."_

Faith managed to relax her raised eyebrows when she heard Giles mutter, _"Good lord, woman, even I know who the Red Sox are"_ after Buffy finally handed over the phone.

"Give her hell for me, Giles," Faith encouraged as she leaned back in her leather office chair, thoroughly amused.

"_I'm sure she'll receive adequate 'hell' on the trip to deliver the documents I've found. I believe Dawn is dancing around in the room behind me now, singing an 'I'm driving to Las Vegas' song."_

"You should record that, Giles, play it at the kid's wedding some day. Sure the in-laws would love to see that."

"_I'm not sure anyone should see this,"_ Giles said, his voice tired from his round-the-clock research. _"In any case, Buffy will leave here tomorrow evening once we receive the books Angel is sending. Still, I'm not sure how much help anything we send will be, I'm afraid. The books we've studied don't seem to mention the Final or the Last Evil because the world – humanity – still exists. If he succeeds in his plans, well . . . I'm sure the intercelestial book stores will be overflowing with tributes and biographies. Until then, we're best to start looking for more sources in the demon world who might know information. Surely The Last couldn't have arrived without some notice."_

"Small problem with that," Faith interrupted. Guiltily, she continued, "I kinda killed them. And the ones that I didn't kill, well . . . I don't think they're gonna be all gung-ho about helping me out."

"_Ahh, yes. There's always that."_Giles sighed and Faith could practically hear him massaging the bridge of his nose. _"Is there no one that you can turn to? No sources, no friends? Perhaps Jil-hanesh . . ."_

"That's a dead end," Faith interrupted again. "Went back to see him, but he's gone. Left Vegas for safer grounds, I guess. Guess a lot of the neutral demons are doing the same."

_"Right. We'll find something, I'm sure. It's just the matter of looking in the right places."_

"I really appreciate it, G. I know you don't gotta be helping me, so it's cool that you're stickin' around. Most people don't hang around me too long, yunno?"

Faith couldn't completely hide the hurt that had always caused; the way that people had always hung around her only until things went wrong. No one had ever stood at her side, or helped her fight. This was new for her, and while she had a hard time accepting it at first, she'd really come to appreciate it over time.

_"I've failed you before, Faith, and I won't let that happen again. I look at it as a personal indiscretion on my part . . ."_

"Whoa whoa whoa," Faith interrupted, sitting forward in her chair quickly. "How bout you never mention the words 'personal' and 'part' again in the same sentence and we call it even?"

She heard Giles chuckle on the other end, and she couldn't quite remember ever hearing him laugh before. Maybe their partnership was good for the both of them.

_"Call me if you need anything," _Giles said, back to business.

"Will do. Thanks Giles."

Faith pulled the phone from her ear and pressed the power button, ending the call. She couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face before she stood up and grabbed her jacket from a small coat rack near the door. She opened the door and began to put on her jacket, lifting her hair out of the back.

"Andy?" she called out. "We're goin' shopping."

"For what?" Andrew asked as he stepped out of the kitchen, a yellow apron tied around his waist.

Faith smiled all big as she grabbed Andrew's jacket from the rack and tossed it over to him.

"We're having houseguests."

********************

Andrew walked back into the office a few hours later carrying two bags full of groceries in his arms. Unable to see over the tops of the bags, he used his foot to find the leg of the table and promptly rested the bags down on it. Standing up straight, he looked across the room to Xander who was feverishly making marks on a piece of baseboard trim that he needed to cut.

Putting his hands on his hips and arching his back forward, Andrew stretched his back and grimaced slightly at the unexpected loud cracking sound.

Xander looked up, a pencil held between his teeth, and eyed Andrew cautiously.

"The bags were really heavy," Andrew explained shyly.

He quickly picked up the two bags and carried them into the kitchen, disappearing from sight just as Faith walked in the front door with about seventeen various bags and sacks hanging from her arms. Her vision was completely impeded, but she breezed through the room easily, setting a few bags down on the same table.

"Ahh, I see you let Andrew do the heavy lifting then," Xander said as he walked over to Faith and helped her unload the rest of the packages.

"Kid's a total lightweight," Faith said as she started searching through the bags, separating them intentionally. "We're gonna need to look into turning one of the guest rooms into a workout room. Get some weights in there, punching bag or something. Seriously, he was whining the entire time about not being able to carry stuff."

"One room at a time, please?" Xander pleaded as he indicated his busy working place. "You threw me for a spin when you told me everything needs to be done by tomorrow when the Buffster and Dawn get here, but I'm getting it done. I nearly poked out my good eye with the pencil because I've been rushing everything."

"That's why you're my number one guy, Xan," Faith quipped, giving him a slap on the back. "Listen, I'm not worried about getting everything perfect. I just want all this shit outta here before they come, and I don't want them sleeping in a construction zone, yunno?"

"I know, I know," Xander said and exhaled loudly. "How do you even know they're staying? They might show up, deliver the books, and leave."

Faith reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope, thrusting it against Xander's chest. He reached inside and pulled out five tickets, reading them over carefully.

"You got tickets for Blue Man Group?" He couldn't keep the excitement from his voice.

"Yup, and they're for the Saturday show. B and Dawnie don't get here 'til Friday; kinda figure they're gonna have to stay a night or two."

Faith tried to sound casual. She didn't want to make a big deal out of the fact that she was excited that Buffy was coming for a visit. Sure, the thousand-plus bucks she spent on bedding and food and entertainment for the visit might have indicated her excitement, but she still wanted to play cool about it.

After all, she wasn't used to keeping her emotions out there for people to read and possibly take advantage of.

"Well, judging by the bags from Linens-N-Things, I'd say that you've got everything they need for the guest rooms. Need a hand putting them together?"

Faith smiled and happily accepted his offer. They grabbed the plastic bags and made their way up the stairs, leaving random grocery-filled bags littering the table while Andrew puttered around in the kitchen.

Just as the dust started to settle in the room, a thick black smoke drifted in through the opened front door. It crept around the floor boards and stopped by the plastic grocery bags on the floor. A moment later, the smoke began to take shape, finally solidifying into The Last, as dapperly dressed as ever.

He looked around the room, standing completely still so that he could hear the banter upstairs between Faith and Xander. Taking notice of the plethora of groceries yet to be put away, an evil smile crossed his face.

"Oh goodie, I guess we're having company then."

A sudden noise from the kitchen caught his attention. In the blink of an eye, he was back in his smoke form and making a hasty escape out the front door.

"Faith? Your voice is kind of low. You should take some Echinacea, I think you're catching a . . ." Andrew said as walked out the kitchen door, stopping when he realized that he was alone in the room, ". . . cold."

Looking up toward the ceiling, he heard the sounds of Xander and Faith laughing as they tried to make a bed together. Warily looking back at the room around him, he frowned as he noticed the opened door. Stepping cautiously over the bags, he gazed suspiciously out the front door, then closed it tight and locked the deadbolt.

Looking back into the room, he shrugged and picked up a few more bags and carried them into the kitchen.

Outside, The Last laughed and continued his silent observations.

********************

"When do you think they're gonna get here?" Faith asked as she peered nervously out the front window and into the darkening street, looking for any signs of Buffy's car.

"Relax, Faith," Xander said from his place on the sofa, barely paying her any attention as he fumbled around with the television remote in his hands. "Giles said they left a while ago, but that Dawn was driving. I'm sure that she's pulled them over to a mall or two by now."

The room was free of any construction materials for the first time since they'd begun renovating. They'd finished up the last of the major work the night before and mainly spent the earlier part of that morning and afternoon finishing up the final touches. From the looks of things, it seemed as though they had been living there comfortably for years and that there wasn't a plethora of tools and building materials stashed hastily in the unfinished basement where no one but the lizards would look upon them.

"Actually, Buffy is having a panic attack and Dawn is laughing at her," Anya offered as she shimmered into the room, right onto the sofa next to Xander. She looked at her position proudly and rested her arms up on the back of the sofa. "I'm getting very good at this."

"And I'm glad that you are. All we need is for you to have another tantrum in the basement," Xander said with a grin, looking over at Anya with just as much pride. Then something dawned on him. "Wait, how do you know what Buffy is doing?"

Anya shrugged and looked down at her hand, inspecting her immaculate finger nails.

"Watching Faith pine away at the window was getting boring, so I popped on over and checked in on Buffy and Dawn to see how close they are."

Faith turned and narrowed her eyes at Anya, who didn't even notice her glowering.

She didn't do pining.

"Ahn," Xander began, chuckling nervously, "you can't just pop in on people all willy nilly. Dawn is a new driver, you probably scared her half to death . . ."

"Dawn wasn't driving, Buffy was. Apparently she'd had enough of Dawn's recklessness. I guess that made it quite amusing for Dawn when Buffy hit the guard rail after I showed up." Noticing Xander's worried look, she continued. "Oh, they're fine; the only thing hurt is Buffy's ego. They'll be here shortly."

"Oh." Xander said, his brow slightly furrowed. "Well, still. They're not used to your shimmering. It can be . . . unsettling," he finished self-consciously.

He was still trying to get used to Anya popping up randomly in his apartment, especially during his naked time.

"Yeah, and annoying," Faith added. "I'm tellin ya, you do your ghostly shimmer-in thing one more time while I'm showering and I'm asking the Powers That Be to send you to Pervaholics Anonymous."

Xander looked from Faith to Anya then, his mouth open in shock. He could act like he was upset, but he'd be lying if the thought didn't turn him on just a little bit. The way he fought the smirk trying to appear on his face gave him away.

"You shimmer in on Faith too?"

"Oh, stop looking at me like you wouldn't do the same thing if you had the opportunity," Anya said with a scowl and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You don't shimmer in on me," Andrew added quietly, his bottom lip coming out in the slightest of pouts.

"There's a difference. Faith is beautiful. I can appreciate the sexual appeal," Anya defended.

"I'm beautiful," Andrew said. Noticing the blank looks from everyone else in the room, he added, "Christina Aguilera thinks so, anyways."

Feeling more than a bit awkward now, Andrew stood up and made his way into the kitchen, closing the door behind himself so that they wouldn't see him eating his secretly stashed pint of double mocha almond crunch ice cream. It always made him feel better.

Meanwhile, Faith continued her vigil at the window while Xander watched TV and Anya bugged him to put on the shopping channel.

About twenty minutes passed before Faith announced the arrival of Buffy's car coming down the street. Andrew re-appeared from the kitchen looking sated and ready for the visitors. He just hoped that no one would notice the small chocolate stain on his Star Wars t-shirt.

Faith debated on whether she should greet them outside and help carry their bags, but before she could make up her mind, she saw Buffy coming up the walkway with a few bags in her arms. Dawn was trailing a few steps behind, still snickering over their ordeal.

Making her way over to the door, Faith opened it just in time to come face to face with their visitors.

"I believe I need to have a word with your ghost," Buffy said through clenched teeth, ignoring her now laughing sister.

Faith laughed and took one of Buffy's bags from her arms, lightening up her load. Judging from the amount of bags they had with them, they were already planning on staying a while. Maybe she hadn't needed to shell up all of that money for the Blue Man Group tickets after all.

"Yeah, heard about the little fender bender. But listen, we told her not to drop in on ya anymore, B, so there's no need to go all Ghostbusters on her ass."

Stepping back from the door, Faith let Buffy and Dawn walk into the house. All eyes fell upon Anya, who was still sitting casually on the sofa.

"What?" she asked, annoyed. "She was driving. It's not like I saw her showering."

Buffy raised an eyebrow in question and looked over at Xander for some kind of a translation or explanation. All Xander could manage was a shrug.

"It's so hard to housebreak them," he vaguely explained before crossing the space between them and giving Buffy a tight hug. "It's good to have you back here, Buff. Looks like you're staying for a while, which is good seeing that Faith has all sorts of fun stuff planned."

Faith immediately stiffened up. She didn't want Buffy to think that she was trying to get them to stay; there was no way that she wanted to look like some kind of pining moron. As far as Buffy knew, Faith wasn't into her in that way, and Faith wanted to keep it that way.

"If by 'fun stuff' you mean that I got us tickets to Blue Man Group, then yeah. But it's not like we're gonna be having potato sack races and shit," Faith corrected.

Dawn clapped excitedly and jumped up and down a few times.

"You hear that, Buffy? Blue Man Group. Now all you have to do is manage to keep your foot out of your mouth for a few days and we'll get to see them this time around."

Buffy managed a quick glare at her sister before she remembered the reason for their visit. Setting the remainder of their bags down on the ground, she reached into a safely stowed leather sack and pulled out a stack of papers and books, handing them over to Faith.

"These are for you. The big brown and green books are from Angel. The extra musty black book is from Giles, and he said to take extra care of it because 'it was bloody hard to get his hands on'," she explained, doing an impression of Giles for the last part. "I personally don't mind if you keep it indefinitely. It's just one less smelly old book that I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis."

Wiping her hands on her jeans as Faith thumbed through the documents, Buffy looked around the living space and front room.

"Wow, looks like a whole new place," she commented, then looked over to Xander. "Plumbing up and running?"

"Yep, and the guest rooms are up and running too. You and Dawnie can stay here with Faith and Andrew, and I'll do the daily commute to my apartment. It's not that far, actually."

Buffy's bottom lip instantly stuck out in her patented pout.

"But Xander, we're not here for very long. Dawn and I can share a room, and you can stay here . . ."

"Hey," Dawn interrupted, "you snore and talk in your sleep. No way am I sharing with you. You can bunk with Faith or Andrew."

Andrew smiled excitedly. He knew his bunk bed would come in handy!

Quickly looking from Andrew to Faith with pleading eyes, Buffy suddenly started to feel shy. She'd shared a bed with Willow before. She'd been to multiple sleepovers. So why was the thought of sharing a bed with Faith making her start to blush?

Picking up on the sudden awkwardness, Xander spoke up again.

"Hey, you know what? I can be sofa guy, and you all can have your own rooms. It's fine by me, I've slept in worse places. I just need to take a trip to my place and get some fresh clothes for tomorrow. Buffy, Dawn? Wanna come for a ride, check out the new digs?"

Dawn immediately jumped at the chance to be out and about, but Buffy had other ideas in mind.

"Actually, if tomorrow is gonna be fun day, today should be work day. I should probably stay here with Faith and do the research thing, go over the notes Giles made for her. Do you guys mind if I save the apartment tour for tomorrow?"

Dawn shrugged, unconcerned. She was just happy to be free of the research den known as Giles' apartment for a few days. Xander, however, perked right up.

"I'm having an idea here. Dawn and I will pick up some pizza or some other delicious brain food on the way back. We'll have a bite, have a drink, and then we can get our study on, just like in the good ol' days. Everyone up for that?"

"Works for me if that's what you guys wanna do," Faith said. She hadn't expected them to help her out on the research part, so she was more than willing to accept any help offered. She could only take so many of Andrew's conspiracy theories and wild guesses.

"Great," Xander said excitedly. "You guys get everything set up and we'll be back in an hour."

Without much more ado, Xander and Dawn left and headed to his apartment, leaving Faith, Buffy, and Andrew to set the table and get their bags settled into their rooms. Anya decided to take off for a while, hoping that she wouldn't have to help in the research.

Smelly books offended her delicate ghostly sense of smell.

Andrew took on the task of setting up the table and making what he called was "a hot-sauce that would bring even Luke Skywalker to his knees." Faith didn't know what the hell he meant, but she knew that it would tie him up in the kitchen, which would give her some alone time with Buffy.

Alone time with Buffy, while a bit intimidating, was what Faith was looking for. She knew that it wasn't likely to happen much over the weekend seeing as that there would be so many people in the house, so she was willing to greedily take what she could get.

Besides, she had something special that she wanted to give to Buffy, and giving it to her in front of the others would undoubtedly ruin her rep.

They grabbed Buffy and Dawn's bags and went upstairs, pausing out in the hallway. Faith's room was on one side of the hall and Andrew's was on the other, with the two guest rooms being across from one another as well. Buffy saw the two opened doors to the guest rooms and randomly picked one, figuring that one was just as good as the other.

As she walked in and began to place her bags on the bed, Faith hurried over and stopped her.

"Actually, this one is kinda for Dawnie. There's something in the other room I wanna show ya anyhow."

"But that room is next to Andrew's and I really don't think I want to hear what kind of noises come from his room at night," Buffy said with a grimace.

Right, so she hadn't chosen randomly then. Buffy Summers, Keen Observer since 1981.

"So I'll gag him. C'mon, B. It's worth it, I promise."

Not giving Buffy a chance to fight her on it, Faith grabbed Buffy's sleeve and practically yanked her out of the room and across the hall. They entered the other guest room and Buffy looked around with a small smile, appreciating the décor. It was exactly to her tastes; warm and earthy colors with just enough décor to keep it looking mildly lived in.

She walked over to the chair in the corner and placed her bags on it, then went over to the bed and had a seat on the end, bouncing a bit to test the firmness.

"Ya like it?" Faith asked, anxiously waiting for some kind of reaction.

"It's nice," Buffy commented. "Big bed, nice big dresser with an equally big mirror, alarm-clock radio, picture of . . ."

She gasped softly, her words suddenly cut short. Her eyes widened as she stared at a small photo frame on the bedside table, tears immediately beginning to well up in her eyes.

The frame held a somewhat worn photo of Buffy, Dawn, and Joyce from a few years back.

Buffy didn't dare blink, afraid that the mirage would disappear forever. However, the need to blink finally won out and she did, letting a few stray tears slip down her cheeks.

"How . . .?" she began, her voice a whisper.

"Anya," Faith answered just as quietly, staring at Buffy's face. "She can teleport anywhere she wants, and . . . well, she didn't wanna go to Sunnydale, but I kinda won that battle. I . . . I hope you don't mind . . ."

And suddenly she was unsure. The last thing she'd wanted to do was make Buffy mad; she'd only wanted to give her something that she knew would mean something. Joyce was a good person, and Faith felt it was a shame that all traces of her had vanished underneath the rubble of the town.

"I can't believe you did this," Buffy whispered, her gaze still fixed upon the photo that now rested in her hands.

"I'm sorry, B," Faith said, looking down at her feet. Great. Buffy was upset. "I thought you'd like it, and I didn't think youmpfhh . . ."

Faith's words were cut off when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her in a tight hug. She hadn't even seen Buffy stand up, but now she felt her arms around her in a tight embrace and for a moment, she thought she was daydreaming. Finally lifting her heavy arms, she wrapped them around Buffy as well, letting her hand run over the back of her long blonde hair.

"Thank you," Buffy whispered, crying softly.

Faith smiled to herself, basking in the moment.

"Anytime, B."

********************

As promised, Xander and Dawn returned about an hour later with pizza and subs galore. He complained for a while that having visitors was going to seriously ruin his new healthy eating regime, but he was more than happy to gorge in the name of company.

Buffy took Dawn up to her room and showed her the picture that Anya had salvaged. They'd cried and laughed and arranged to have numerous copies made. Dawn, too, was grateful for what Faith had asked Anya to do and hugged her tight, whispering that she always had thought Faith was cooler than Buffy, even when everyone else was mad at her.

For the better part of the evening, they poured over the documents and books looking for anything relevant. Giles had told Faith that he thought it might be futile, but she felt helpless sitting around and doing nothing at all. Maybe they'd get lucky and find a needle in a haystack.

Luck, however, didn't seem to be on their side. Besides a reference they found to a daughter of evil – which Dawn joked had to be Faith – they came up with absolutely nothing. They saw a few entries hinting at The First and his victory over the world, so they threw that book aside, knowing that it was obviously outdated information.

Soon each and every word on the printed pages began to look the same, and they took a break to rest their tired eyes. Xander and Dawn jumped over to the sofa and turned on the X-Box while Buffy and Faith sat back at the table with their legs kicked up, having yet another cold beer. Andrew remained seated on a chair searching through internet databases on his laptop, hoping that maybe some other cyber nerd out there had some hope to offer.

"This sucks," Faith grumbled and took another swig of her beer.

"There has to be something out there. Something we're missing. Nothing exists in this world without there being documentation of it," Buffy replied and picked up another paper from the table, arbitrarily looking it over.

"But The Last hasn't existed always. He was created by our own evil, and that crazy guru chump summoned him with some hijacked dark mojo. There's nothing written about him in any historical references. He's more of a current affair," Faith explained, slowly peeling the label from her beer bottle.

"I can't find anything on the internet, not even on the LVPD site," Andrew grumbled as he typed slowly. "They're not making any information public because all of the related cases are still open. They think that they have some kind of lunatic killer on their hands, though. Any more unexplained deaths and the Feds will be here, mark my words."

Faith sighed loudly and lowered her feet from the chair, sitting forward.

"Great, and that's all I need. More people gettin' in the way of me doing my job. Oh yeah, not to mention the fact that I'm an escaped convict. I hope Red worked the good mojo when she zapped my record."

"You have nothing to worry about, Faith. Willow's like the Michael Jordan of magic," Xander offered from his place on the sofa, unable to look away from the TV screen. He was too busy losing pathetically to Dawn. "What about Camryn? Did she give you anything to go on?"

Faith's eyes nearly bugged out of her head when Xander began asking about Camryn, especially when Buffy's attention seemed to perk up at the mention of her name. How exactly was she going to explain that she was on a first name, phone number exchanging basis with a stripper with a knack for knowing the who and the where?

"Who's Camryn?" Buffy asked as casually as possible.

She wasn't jealous. Faith was a friend. She was just inquiring about her new friends. Or at least that was what she was hoping came across. She wasn't ready to deal with what it meant if she thought about it beyond that.

"She's just a girl we met that helped us find Jil'hanesh. And she hasn't heard anything, Xan. No news," Faith mumbled, running a hand through her hair. She did her best to keep her eyes focused on her beer bottle, not wanting to see Buffy's reaction.

When she finally looked up, she noticed that it was almost midnight already. Between the anxiety over having guests and the night spent researching, she was ready to call it a night.

"Listen, it's late, I'm tired, and we're gettin' nowhere, so I'm gonna head to bed. Feel free to stay up and raid the kitchen, whatever."

She stood up and stretched her arms up in the air, stretching her tired muscles. Mid-stretch she happened to look over and see Buffy trying her best not to check her out. Making sure to hold her stretch just a little longer than usual, Faith grinned to herself as she finally put her arms down and pushed her chair back in against the table.

Yeah, she wasn't sure what that meant – Buffy checking her out – but it took her back to her first time through Sunnydale when it was all stolen glances and awkward sexually-charged moments. Whatever it was, she took it as a good sign. There was no way Buffy would ever like her in the same way that she liked Buffy, but hey, at least she had some new fodder for her fantasy file.

Saying her goodnights to her friends, Faith was the first to head to bed, followed shortly thereafter by Buffy, then Xander and Dawn who just wanted to finish up their game. Andrew stayed up a bit longer, determined to find something useful on the internet, but instead decided to be useful by clearing the glasses and plates from the table and putting them in the kitchen.

He knew that while he might not be the best researcher in the world, he was pretty sure that his hot sauce was a smash success. At least he had that to be proud of.

Taking one last look around the front room, he turned off the last light and headed up to his room, leaving a snoring Xander alone on the sofa.

As the house finally went completely quiet, a small shimmer appeared in the front room. Anya materialized and stood over Xander, smiling fondly as she watched him sleep. Ever so cautiously as she'd done for the previous few weeks unnoticed, she lowered herself on the sofa and laid next to him, unable to feel his warmth, but happy to be at his side in even the most basic of ways.

Hours passed by and the house remained silent as everyone slept deeply. They had a lot to do the next day, but it wasn't all about research, though that would surely play a part. They'd actually get to go out and have some fun. It was something they were all looking forward to.

A small creak at the front door went unnoticed, as did the attempt to turn the locked handle. After a few moments, a thick black smoke began to drift in under the door, taking a few moments to solidify into The Last. He looked around the room and at the books on the table, sliding a paper aside to see the title of the book that lay underneath it.

He chuckled to himself, knowing that they didn't have a clue. His plan would come to fruition, he was sure of that. He'd destroy the world and steal its power.

And he was going to use them to help him.

Turning sharply as he heard a sleepy mumble from the sofa, he grinned evilly as he noticed Anya and Xander sleeping soundly. Rubbing his hand over the amulet in his chest, two trails of black smoke escaped from it and made their way over to the sleeping figures. The smoke entered Xander first as he drew in a deep breath, though he continued sleeping, seemingly unaffected. It entered Anya next much to the same effect.

The Last looked on in approval, then decided to move on. Turning to smoke once again so he could move around soundlessly, he drifted up the stairwell and down the hall. Small trails of black smoke escaped him as he traveled, making their way under all four of the bedroom doors. He paused at the end of the hall and solidified once again, smirking at his handy work.

"Get to work, my babies," he said quietly, his voice low and his deep southern drawl thick. "I'll see you all very, very soon."

He turned to smoke once again and escaped through the opened bathroom window, anxious to see how this would play out. It was different every time he infected someone, with the host taking on the aspect of a sin latent within them. He was sure that this time around would be quite amusing.

********************

Faith awoke to the morning sun shining in her room and the smell of coffee perking in the kitchen below. She smiled to herself and stretched, running her hands over her breasts, down her stomach, and over her thighs. Without realizing she was doing it, she slipped her hand between her legs where she rubbed herself slowly over her panties. Moaning quietly, she stopped suddenly and opened her eyes, immediately aware of herself.

She had guests. There were lots of people in the house. Some of them awake, apparently. She could hear the shower shut off in the bathroom, and she was pretty sure that she heard YMCA playing on a radio in the kitchen below. It really wasn't the time for inappropriate yet satisfying touching.

Really, really satisfying touching.

Biting her bottom lip as she kept rubbing her fingers over her panties, Faith had to hold back a moan as she heard someone walk out of the bathroom and into the hall. Steeling herself, Faith quickly hopped up out of her bed, denying herself what she was obviously craving.

She didn't know what was going on with herself, but she knew she needed to get it under control.

Deciding that she needed to take a cold shower to kick the insatiable urge that she couldn't quite seem to shake, Faith quickly opened the door to see Buffy walking past her room clad only in a white cotton towel. Stepping back so that Buffy wouldn't see her, Faith waited until the hallway was clear before stepping out again.

"Oh yeah. Cold shower. Really, reallllly cold shower," she said to herself as she ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

********************

Downstairs, Xander awoke to the smell of fresh coffee, sizzling bacon, and . . . was that jalapeno cheese? Opening his eyes, he looked over to find that he was laying on the floor with a small blanket draped over him while Anya lounged on the sofa, TV remove in hand.

"How did I end up down here?" he asked as he sat up, pulling the blanket up over his chest.

"Must've fallen," Anya said blankly as she stared at the TV.

"You could've woken me," Xander said, barely paying attention. He was too busy trying to figure out what the good smells were.

"Yes, but that would have taken effort," Anya replied with a shrug.

"Breakfast is ready in five!" came a sing-song voice from the kitchen over the loud music.

"Ooh, breakfast," Xander said, instantly perking up. "I'm famished."

He stood up and walked over to the table, sitting down excitedly. Tucking a napkin in the front of his pajama shirt, he tried to peek around the kitchen door and see what kind of goodies were headed his way.

Dawn chose that moment to walk down the stairs, a pout firmly planted on her face.

"What's up, Dawnster?" Xander asked, barely paying her any attention.

"First Buffy took a shower and now Faith is in the shower. I wanted to take a shower," she whined.

"She'll be done soon, and then you can have your turn. Besides . . . Andrew's cooking up a storm. You don't want to miss breakfast. I smell jalapeno cheese with just a hint of spicy chorizo," he said excitedly, his nostrils sniffing wildly.

"I would've made breakfast," Dawn grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as she slumped back in her chair. "I can cook just as good as Andrew. Why didn't he let me cook breakfast?"

"Because I'm the best cook in the entire known universe and quite possibly beyond!" Andrew said cheerily as he breezed through the kitchen door with a large tray of food in his arms.

Xander's mouth dropped open at the sight, and it wasn't just because of the food. The delicious food. The crisp bacon piled high, the jalapeno cheese and chorizo omelettes, the homemade hash browns, or the pitcher of undoubtedly fresh-squeezed orange juice.

No, Xander's mouth fell open when he saw Andrew's cooking outfit. He had on silky rainbow short-shorts with a bright yellow tank top tucked into them and a pair of matching lemon-yellow socks covering his feet.

Dawn's mouth fell open as well.

"Where did you get those shorts?" she asked. "I've always wanted a pair just like them, and they'd so look better on me!"

Andrew looked down at his shorts after he put the food down on the table and shrugged.

"They're just something I had lying around," he said evasively.

"Hey Andy, the 70's gay disco called. It wants its outfit back," Xander joked, but he was no longer paying any attention to Andrew. He was busy salivating over the delicious, delicious food. He felt like a bottomless pit, and he desperately needed filled up.

Greedily grabbing one of the plates, he dug into the huge omelet, ignoring the fact that it probably could have fed the lot of them. Screw the diet, he thought. The diet could continue once the delicious food was gone.

"Mmm…..dif if da beft omelet I'fe efer had!" Xander said with his mouth full, giving Andrew a thumbs up with his free hand.

"I know, right?" Andrew replied, a proud smile on his face.

"Hey!" Dawn scolded as she watched Xander greedily slurping up the omelet bite after bite. "I wanted some of that! Leave some for me, Xander, I want some too!"

Xander slid the plate further away from Dawn and protectively hunched over it, eating quicker so that he didn't have to share. His attention was caught for a moment as a new song started blaring in the kitchen, but he quickly ignored it and went back to his gorging.

"Oh, I love this song!" Andrew squeed and began to jump around and dance.

Anya managed to lift her head and look back at the commotion, one eyebrow raised as she watched Andrew prance around in his rainbow outfit.

"Hmm. There's a Pride Parade in the house. Weird." Her interest no longer piqued, she turned back to the TV and sighed, not bothered to do anything else.

********************

**((Suggested Music: Snakeface by Throwing Muses))**

Faith stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, quickly wrapping herself in it as she continued shivering. The cold shower had done nothing to cool her libido. All she had to do was picture Buffy walking by in her towel and her lust was fired up again.

Quickly drying off, she peeked out in the hall to make sure the coast was clear and then ran over to her room wearing just her towel.

"I know 'It's Raining Men' is playing somewhere downstairs, but from where I'm standing, well . . . kinda looks like it's raining women," came a sexy voice from behind Faith just as she made it to her bedroom door.

She spun around against her better judgment to find Buffy standing there, still dressed in only her white cotton towel with her fingertips playing with the soft material. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, and she suddenly felt the fire in her burning hotter and hotter. She knew she had to get out of there and fast if she was expected to control herself.

Unable to think of any way to respond other than jumping on Buffy and humping her leg, Faith quickly spun around and ran into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She rested back against it and slammed her eyes shut, breathing hard through her nose with her jaw clenched tightly shut. She was trying to fight it, trying to fight the inexplicable lust building within her . . . and then it dawned on her.

Lust.

The Last had infected her. It was the only possible explanation. She'd lusted after Buffy for years but had always been able to control it, or at least suppress it when she was around her. She needed to call someone. Willow, Giles . . . someone that could help her. Her mind was focused on one thing though, one person.

Buffy, Buffy, Buffy screamed through her mind, raced through her veins, and she knew she was losing the battle.

And then, clarity. A moment of peace. She knew what she had to do.

Faith turned around and opened the door, looking out into the now empty hallway. She walked across the hall and opened Buffy's door without knocking, letting herself in the room and closing the door behind her.

Buffy was standing just a few feet in front of her as if she knew that Faith would follow her.

They stared at one another for a moment, pupils dilated as they stared upon their object of desire. Buffy smiled coyly . . . and shrugged her towel to the floor, leaving her completely naked before Faith.

And that was all that Faith could take.

Her own towel dropped hastily to the floor, Faith closed the short distance between them and pulled Buffy into her arms, their lips crashing together in a heated kiss. She could feel Buffy's breasts pressing against her own, could feel the brush of her barely-there pubic hair soft against her thigh, and she knew that things were going to get a whole lot worse before they got any better.

She began to walk Buffy backwards toward the large unmade bed, fighting the urge to just pick her up and carry her the rest of the way.

"You know," Faith mumbled against her lips, then began to kiss down her jaw to her neck, "I think it's The Last. He infected us while we were sleeping."

They finally reached the edge of the bed and Buffy crawled back onto it, tempting Faith closer with a curl of her finger. Faith didn't hesitate; she leapt on the bed and on Buffy, instantly starting to suck and kiss at her neck again.

"I know," Buffy replied, stopping to moan as Faith nibbled at her sensitive neck. "I woke up early and I just . . .nngh, ohh . . . couldn't stop thinking about you. I was so worked up . . . oh yeah, just like that . . . that I had to make myself come two times before I realized a cold shower was in order."

Faith smiled against Buffy's skin at her confession and kissed along her jaw until their lips met again, hungry and needy and wanting more.

"That's kinda sexy, you touching yourself and thinking about me," Faith said, holding herself up on one arm and letting her fingertips play over Buffy's stomach, watching goosebumps appear on her perfect skin.

"I'd be lying if I said it was the first time," Buffy confessed, biting on her lower lip as she looked up at Faith with lust-filled eyes. "You were the forbidden fruit, Faith. In case you hadn't noticed, I kinda had a thing for the forbidden when we were younger."

"And now?" Faith asked, her fingers slowly trailing down lower on Buffy's stomach, closer and closer to what she'd always wanted.

"Now, well . . ." Buffy paused, a mischievous look upon her face. She sat up a little and put her hands on Faith's shoulders, pushing her down until she was lying on her back. ". . . I hear that fruit is an important food group. I think I'm ready to have a healthy helping."

Faith laughed aloud, crossing her arms under her head and looking at Buffy with an eyebrow playfully raised.

Buffy merely smiled and leaned down to begin kissing her again, placing a series of feather soft kisses over Faith's lips. She ran her right hand down Faith's side, taking her time to memorize every dip and curve of soft skin. When her hand reached Faith's thigh, she slid her fingers gently under it and pulled it up so that her leg was bent at the knee. That was when she ever so subtly, while keeping Faith preoccupied with the teasingly soft kisses, slid her fingers between parted flesh, feeling Faith's body react beneath her.

She let her fingers explore, coating them in Faith's already plentiful wetness and slipping them over her ever so softly, teasingly.

"Fuck," Faith whispered, one of her hands at the back of Buffy's head now, keeping their lips together.

"I'm not exactly experienced at this," Buffy whispered against Faith's lips.

"I'm not exactly complaining," Faith panted.

Buffy smiled, her fingers still exploring tentatively.

"Tell me what you need," she whispered, her fingers slowly **EDITED FOR CONTENT.**

"Oh god," Faith panted again, trying so hard not to close her eyes, "harder."

And Buffy listened, running her fingers harder over Faith, relishing in the way that the girl was already shaking and quivering beneath her.

********************

"Oh god," Xander groaned, sitting back in his chair at the kitchen table with his hand on his bulging stomach. "That was quite possibly the best thing that I've ever eaten."

"I'd sexually resent that if I could bring myself to care," Anya said impassively from the sofa, not having budged an inch since the feeding frenzy began an hour before.

"I bet you'd like my cooking as much as you like Andrew's," Dawn complained as she chewed on a piece of bacon. "Oh, who am I kidding? This is the best bacon since the invention of pigs."

Andrew came out of the kitchen, this time carrying a huge plate of fresh Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.

"Gimme!" Xander exclaimed, sitting forward and ignoring his now rounded gut.

"These are for Faith and Buffy!" Andrew exclaimed, hitting Xander's grabby hands with a spatula. "My secret ingredient is just a dash of nutmeg. Seriously, they're probably the best Belgian waffles that this world has ever seen."

"Which is why you should share them with me," Xander reasoned, trying to grab them again.

Andrew managed to avoid his attempt though, dodging to the right until he was near the bottom of the staircase.

"Someone should really tell them to come down before it gets cold," he said.

_"Oh fuck, I'm coming!"_ Faith yelled from upstairs in a fit of pleasure, the sounds of her following moans drowned out by the sound of "Dancing Queen" by Abba playing on Andrew's radio.

Andrew smiled happily and walked back to the table. "She's on her way down."

Dawn's eyes were wide at the realization of what was probably going on upstairs, but then she noticed the plate of waffles in front of her.

"Why do Buffy and Faith get the waffles? Why can't I have them?" she complained again.

"If you want waffles so much, why don't you go and make some for us, Dawnster?" Xander asked hopefully.

Dawn looked determined for a moment, but then sank down in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest again.

"Because they won't be as good as Andrew's."

"My other secret ingredient is love," Andrew said proudly.

"You all make me want to vomit," Anya chimed in from her place on the sofa. "If you think that Faith is 'coming' down to breakfast, you're mistaken. She won't be coming down here until after she and Buffy are done having lesbian sex."

"Faith is having the what with the who?" Xander asked, shocked.

"Faith. Lesbian sex. Buffy. Sex trumps waffles every time."

"I really don't think that . . ." Xander began, but was cut off when they heard Buffy yell, 'Oh god, Faith!' from upstairs. "Do you really think they're having sex up there?"

********************

Buffy's hands gripped tightly to the headboard as she straddled Faith's face, her head thrown back and eyes closed as Faith sent her over the edge again and again. Faith's arms were under her thighs keeping her trapped right against her mouth, her lips and tongue relentless against Buffy.

"Oh god, oh god . . . . oh Faith . . . you've gotta, I'm gonna . . ."

A shimmer of light filled the room, revealing an unsurprised Anya holding a tray of Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. She tilted her head to the side, watching for a moment before clearing her throat, seemingly unaffected.

"Attention lesbians: ghost in the room. I repeat, ghost in the room."

Buffy quickly grabbed a sheet and held it against her chest, but Faith didn't stop her actions. Buffy's thighs were pressed too tightly to her ears for her to hear, or to care for that matter.

"Get out of here, Anya!" Buffy panted.

"I didn't want to come up here in the first place, but Andrew threatened to start singing show tunes. Believe me, I'm happy to get back to my comfy sofa."

Anya began to shimmer out, but Buffy called out her name before she could disappear altogether.

"Leave the whipped cream?" she asked coyly.

Anya merely rolled her eyes and put the can of redi-whip on the dresser before shimmering out fully.

Buffy tossed the sheet down to the side and put her hands back on the headboard, looking down at Faith with a sexy grin.

********************

Downstairs, Dawn was busy grimacing and watching Xander pile in a plate full of cold Belgian waffles swimming in maple syrup. Her appetite ruined from the slurping and grunting Xander was making, she couldn't even envy his food any longer.

The sound of a cell phone playing the Star Wars ringtone sounded from across the room, buried deep inside Andrew's jacket pocket. She thought about telling him that his phone was ringing, but suddenly realized that she wanted to answer the phone herself.

Her cell phone didn't have the cool ringtone, after all.

Besides, he was already busy making lunch for the appreciative, bottomless pit that was Xander.

"Hello?"

_"Dawn? Oh good, I've been trying to reach Faith's mobile phone for hours. I'm glad that you and Buffy arrived safely. A phone call might've been nice," _came Giles' voice from the other end of the line.

"Oops, sorry Giles. I went to see Xander's apartment, and then we had a research party, and then it was just late so we went to bed. And today, well . . . today's been an interesting day."

_"I trust that everyone is well?"_

"Well sure. That is, if you consider Buffy and Faith having sex, Andrew cooking the world's best food in the cutest rainbow shorts that should totally be mine, Xander eating all of my food, and Anya lazing about in the category of 'well and good'."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line until Giles finally spoke again.

_"I'm sorry, did you say that Buffy and Faith are, erm . . . having relations?"_

"The little lust bunnies have been at it all morning. And look Giles, bunnies! A horde of floppy, hoppy bunnies!" She paused for some kind of reaction from Anya, but only received a middle finger held up over the back of Anya's head. "See? Nothing. Anya hasn't even flinched. She just lays on the sofa, complaining that the buttons on the remote are too difficult for her ghostly capabilities."

_"Wait a moment,"_ Giles began._ "Anya's a useless layabout: Sloth. Xander's eating all of your food: Gluttony. Buffy and Faith are having, erm . . .: Lust. And Andrew is . . . wearing rainbow shorts. Gay?"_

"Probably. It's mostly about the Pride though, if you ask me. He's been making the best food all morning and gloating about it. Giles, I want to be as good as Andrew! And if Buffy and Faith are having sex, why can't I??"

_"Right then. Clearly you have Envy. Dawn, it's very important that I speak to Faith. I know it might be, erm, embarrassing, but I need you to take the phone to her . . ."_

"Eww, no way. There's no therapist that could cure those images from my mind. Besides, they're not answering the door, we've tried."

_"Perhaps Xander is able to function somewhat responsibly. May I speak with him, please?"_

Dawn looked over her shoulder at Xander who was busy pouring more syrup over his waffles.

"Unless we run out of food, I don't think I'm going to be able to keep his attention very long."

_"Dawn, it's imperative that we take this matter seriously. If The Last comes back and tries to withdraw the sin he's infected everyone with, there is no way to save your lives. We need to attempt to extract the evil before he does it himself."_

"And how do you expect me to do that, Giles?" Dawn asked, clearly more alert now. "I'm not a slayer. My research skills aren't good like yours or Andrew's. Anya is a better ghost than I could ever hope to be!"

_"Good lord,"_ Giles mumbled under his breath, getting quite frustrated._ "You have no reason to envy any of them right now Dawn. Now please, concentrate. You're the only one focused enough to help. Can you please try to put your petty grievances aside and help save the day?" _ At Dawn's silence, he continued. _ "Anything we try here will be experimental, but we need to try something. Magic won't be enough. I think that . . . Dawn, do you remember passing by any churches in your travels?"_

Dawn thought about it for a moment.

"Well, there's a little dodgy wedding chapel about a mile from Xander's new place. Oh, you should totally come and see his apartment, Giles, it's totally awesome!" When she heard Giles clear his throat, she calmed and controlled herself. "Right, so wedding chapel. There has to be a priest there, right?"

_"It's as good a shot as any,_" Giles confirmed. _"While I don't condone what I'm about to tell you to do, I fear that we're left without options. Dawn . . . can you find the keys to Buffy's car?"_

Dawn smiled wide.

********************

"Turn around, B."

"Hmm?" Buffy mumbled, her mouth otherwise occupied.

"I said turn around," Faith repeated, a devilish grin on her face.

"What did you have in mind?" Buffy asked, excited at what Faith was proposing.

"Anyone ever teach you how to sixty-nine?"

********************

"That's a no-go on the holy water, Giles. But I did get to be a witness for a wedding," Dawn said excitedly.

Giles sighed loudly over the cell phone, pinching the bridge of his nose. He'd just gotten off the phone with Willow, who told him a few spells that might help as well. There wasn't much she could do from Brazil, but she promised to return to LA at the first chance that she could to help out.

_"Are you sure you don't remember any other churches, Dawn? Think hard, please."_

"A-ha!" Dawn said excitedly as she hopped back into Buffy's car. "Last time we were here, we saw a little Episcopal church near a plaza not too far from here. There's an herbalist in the same plaza, and also a toy store, a drugstore, and a Chinese restaurant."

_"Excellent. Go to the drugstore and buy some bottle water. Have the priest bless it if you can. The herbalist might have some things that we can use as well. Call me once you've reached the shop and we'll go from there."_

"You've got it," Dawn said, then promptly closed the small cell phone. Her grip on the steering wheel lax for the moment, she veered off the road and hit several garbage cans, sending them careening into the street. Quickly grabbing the wheel tightly, she steered straight and looked around to see if anyone notice. "No one needs to know about that," she said to herself.

********************

"Mmmmm," Buffy purred happily, one of her legs draped over Faith's as she rested her head on Faith's ample chest.

"Mmmmm," Faith replied back, still trying to catch her breath.

"That was . . ."

". . . mmmmm," Faith finished for her.

Buffy looked up at Faith, smiling at her closed eyes and the content look upon her face.

"You're not done already, are you?" Buffy asked mischievously.

"Not even close," Faith answered, opening one eye to look down at Buffy. "What did ya have in mind?"

"Well," Buffy began, sitting up so that she was straddling Faith, their centers pressed intimately together, "I was thinking . . ."

She didn't say any more but began to move her hips ever so subtly, causing a delicious friction between them.

"I like the way you think," Faith said smiling, her hands coming up to rest on Buffy's hips.

********************

Dawn ran out of the herb shop with a bag clenched tightly in her hands, Andrew's cell phone held up to her ear with her shoulder.

_"So all you have to do is combine the ague root and the tulsi in a glass bowl and set them ablaze. Chant the words I've given you three times, and that should kill the evil essence, at least if I've postulated correctly. Before you do that though, you have to make sure to sprinkle the holy water on everyone, Dawn. The holy water will make the essence susceptible to harm, but it won't kill it. That's what the ague root and tulsi are for."_

"And how do you propose that I 'sprinkle' everyone? There's no way Buffy and Faith will stop their grinding long enough for me to virtually baptize them."

_"Be creative, Dawn. And for god's sake, be quick. We don't know how much longer we have before The Last returns to claim his essences."_

Dawn's eyes focused on a store within the plaza.

"I think I have an idea."

********************

Arriving back at Faith's office, Dawn cautiously walked in the door, making sure that things were still safe and sound. She saw Xander still sitting at the table, now feasting on homemade focaccia bread and marinara sauce.

"No fair!" she yelled, stomping her foot once. "I leave for two hours and I miss the tour of Italy?"

"You snooze, you lose," Xander grunted around a mouthful of bread.

Anya was still in her place on the sofa while Andrew continues his handiwork in the kitchen. Buffy and Faith could be heard from upstairs, their cries of pleasure instantly making Dawn focus on the task at hand.

She put her bags on the floor, knowing that if they were too close to Xander he might eat their contents. Taking one item out of a bag and hiding it behind her back, she forced her way into the kitchen, determined now. She ignored Andrew's complaints to stay out of the cook's sanctuary and grabbed a glass bowl from the cupboard, giving him a glare that shut him right up.

Before Andrew could ask her what she was doing, she pulled a large water gun out from behind her back and began squirting him with the holy water she'd filled it with, laughing as he tried to defend himself with a glass platter. When he was suitably soaked, she left him in the kitchen, wet and confused.

Xander didn't even notice that she'd sprayed him, and Anya hadn't even flinched as Dawn squirted her from across the room.

Dawn stopped at the foot of the stairs. She knew that the next part was gonna suck. There was no way that she wanted to see her sister in the throes in passion. She didn't even like helping her pick out bikinis! This was taking her way out of her comfort zone, but she knew that they were counting on her to save the day.

No really, they were. They just didn't know it yet.

Taking a deep breath, Dawn charged up the stairs and to the door of Buffy's bedroom, then kicked it open with all that she had. Standing in the doorway with one hand over her eyes, she began squirting the gun furiously into the room, waiting until she heard some kind of confirmation that her aim was correct.

"Hey!" Faith yelled, feeling her back getting drenched with water.

Dawn took her hand away from her face for just a moment . . . just long enough to see Faith laying over her sister with one of Buffy's legs wrapped over her.

"Ahh!" Dawn yelled, covering her eyes and stumbling backwards out of the room. Once the door was shut and she was alone in the hall, she started spraying herself with the gun, making sure to squirt her tightly shut eyelids. "My eyes definitely need to be blessed now!"

Slowly she opened her eyes and shook her head, trying to erase that particular image from her mind. She made her way downstairs to finish what Giles told her to do and only hoped she got everything right the first time around.

There was no way she was opening that bedroom door again.

********************

"What the hell was your sister doing?" Faith asked, temporarily distracted.

"Trying to get us wet, apparently," Buffy answered breathlessly. She put her hands on Faith's face, trying to get her to focus once again.

Faith smiled cockily and leaned down, nudging Buffy's nose with her own.

"Wet? Yeah, I'm already that," she said and flicked her tongue over Buffy's top lip.

Buffy moaned and caught Faith's tongue between her lips, sucking on it gently. Faith, of course, got the picture, and started moving against Buffy again, their **EDITED FOR CONTENT** in just the right way that would have them sighing in pleasure in just a few more minutes.

********************

Dawn had the ague root and tulsi in the glass bowl, already smoking slightly from the match she'd just tossed in with them. She blew on the small flame softly, carefully, helping it grow into a bright orange flame that engulfed the herbs.

She excitedly reached inside her pocket and pulled out the receipt from the herb store. On the back were the words that Giles told her she needed to chant to kill the evil essence. She read them over a few time in her head to make sure she got them right. There was no way she was going to mess it up like Ash did in Army of Darkness. Buffy would kill her if she had to slay a whole undead army.

Clearing her throat, Dawn finally said the words aloud.

"Vindico nos ex malum."

She paused for a moment, then gasped as a rush of black smoke exited her mouth and evaporated into thin air. It took her a moment to catch her breath, but she continued.

"Vindico nos ex malum."

This time she watched as black smoke rushed out of Anya and Xander at the same time, leaving them gasping for air like she had been just a moment before.

"Cool," she said and grinned, pleased with herself. Just one more time, she repeated the phrase. "Vindico nos ex malum!"

********************

"Faster, baby," Buffy pleaded.

Faith obliged, moving her body quicker against Buffy's.

They were breathing hard and fast, so close, right on the edge . . .

Suddenly both girls gasped, their bodies going rigid as plumes of black smoke exited their mouths and evaporated into thin air. It took them a moment to regain their bearings, having to catch their breath first.

Faith's eyes suddenly went wide. She looked down at Buffy and waited to be yelled at, waited to be pushed off, waited to be thrown across the room . . . but it didn't happen. Buffy looked up at her with a sense of wonder, her eyes soft as she explored Faith's face.

Without hesitation, she reached up and caressed the side of Faith's face, letting her thumb caress across her full lips. Faith tried, but she couldn't hold back. She pursed her lips and kissed Buffy's thumb. It was meant as a simple gesture, but it evoked something inside of them that could just no longer be contained.

Sliding her hands up around the back of Faith's neck, Buffy pulled Faith down to her and brought their lips together, kissing her slowly, so so softly.

Faith shifted her weight a little and Buffy moaned into her mouth, igniting her passion once again. Testing the waters, she began to move again. Both girls were already so close, so ready to tumble over the edge.

Buffy began breathing heavily again, softly whispering words of encouragement to Faith. After a few short moments, both girls moaned and gasped together, clinging to one another tightly as they came hard and fast.

Faith rested her forehead against Buffy's, relishing the feel of her warm breath blowing across her face. Buffy wrapped both of her arms around Faith's back, unwilling to let her go again just yet.

********************

Xander laid across the sofa with a bucket near his side, afraid that he wouldn't make it to the bathroom quick enough the next time he needed to be sick. The moment that the gluttony essence left his body, he found himself running towards the bathroom, ready to purge most of the day's gorging.

He'd never eaten so much in his whole life, and he was pretty sure that he never wanted to see another omelet or Belgian waffle ever again.

Anya had left to speak to the Powers That be about what had happened to them. She was sure they would love her firsthand account . . . after they scolded her for getting close enough to get infected. Not even ghosts were immune, it seemed.

Andrew, after attempting to explain away his outfit and the over-the-top music as part of a Halloween costume gone bad, decided to hide out in his bedroom until the air cleared. Or at least until Faith forgot about everything Dawn had told her about it.

He was pretty sure he still heard Faith laughing from down in her office.

After Buffy and Faith finished, they did the awkward thing that was expected of them. Faith ran and took a shower while Buffy tried to do damage control, explaining to the others that it was just a spell. Or evil. Or, well . . . something unnatural that had made them act out like that.

Dawn tried to tell her that it was something she was repressing inside of her, but Buffy told her it wasn't and that if she kept her mouth shut, she'd buy her the new Chanel dress that she'd been raving about for weeks.

Feeling more than awkward, Buffy decided it would be best if she and Dawn went back to LA and reported to Giles directly. Xander tried to convince them to stay and even offered to let them stay at his apartment, but Buffy just wasn't sure how to deal. Faith still hadn't so much as looked at her, and she didn't know where they stood.

**(Suggested music: So Contagious by Accepted)**

After packing up the car with their bags, Buffy and Dawn said their goodbyes and Dawn went to wait out in the car for Buffy.

Buffy, knowing that they couldn't just leave, knocked on Faith's office door and waited for a response.

"C'mon in," came Faith's voice.

Steeling herself, Buffy opened the door and walked in. She smiled when she saw that Faith smiled nervously at her, looking suddenly very small behind her big desk.

"Hey," she began.

"Hey," Faith said, chuckling nervously.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Not on you life," Faith answered, making both girls laugh.

"So I heard this crazy saying once, something about 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Ever hear of it?"

Faith laughed, but there was still an awkward tension in the room. Way too much had happened for things to be comfortable.

A few moments passed before Buffy spoke up again.

"So, Dawn and I are gonna head back to LA. The stuff we brought you was pretty useless, and . . . well, I think we were pretty useless too. I'm sorry that we weren't able to help more, Faith."

"Hey, don't be sorry for a second," Faith said. "It's a tough sitch here. Don't know how to fight this guy, and now he's made it personal, sneaking in here like that. Shit, Xander's gonna flip when I tell him he needs to install some kinda mystical security system."

Buffy smiled, looking down at her hands. Her hands that had been in naughty places just hours before. Quickly she looked up at some random spot on the wall.

"Listen," Faith began, her tone changing, "B . . . I'm really sorry. I didn't know what was happening, and I just saw you and . . ."

"Hey," Buffy interrupted her, causing Faith to look up and meet her gaze, "it wasn't your fault, Faith. The Last . . . he got us while we were vulnerable, and he exploited us for his own purposes. It's not anyone's fault. You can't be sorry about it. We can't go back to the weird and awkward place. I refuse to let that happen."

"Why?" Faith asked, genuinely interested.

Buffy chose her words carefully.

"Because I care about you, Faith. I want to be your friend, and a part of friendship is not letting one person take the blame when two are responsible. We were both responsible, even if our actions were a bit out of our hands."

"I'll really kick myself if this fucks things up between us," Faith said honestly, laying it all on the line.

Buffy smiled as reassuringly as she possibly could.

"It won't. I promise."

It took a moment, but Faith smiled then. Maybe things really would be okay.

"Can I ask you a question?" Buffy asked after a few moments passed.

"Go for it."

"Why does all of the weird sex stuff always happen to me?"

Faith laughed, feeling the rest of the tension lift from the room.

"Cos you're kinky, B."

They both laughed then, almost completely at ease, when there was a tentative knock on the door.

"Yeah?" Faith said.

Xander suddenly popped his head into the room, looking quite anxious.

"Faith, there are some people here to see you."

"Yeah? Who's that?" Faith asked, her brow furrowed.

The door pushed in and three people entered the room, looking around casually. The two men – one in a suit and the other in a casual tan jacket – and the woman in the navy pant suit approached her desk and looked down at her.

"Miss Lehane, my name is Captain Jim Brass, Las Vegas Homicide, and this is Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows from the Crime Lab. Would you mind answering a few questions for us?"

Faith sank back in her chair and sighed.

No, things were never that easy.

**_Roll credits._**


	7. Episode 7: Shakedown, Breakdown

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who has sent feedback and emails. You guys are awesome. :)

* * *

Previously on Walk The Line:

_The door pushed in and three people entered the room, looking around casually. The two men – one in a suit and the other in a casual tan jacket – and the woman in the navy pant suit approached her desk and looked down at her._

"_Miss Lehane, my name is Captain Jim Brass, Las Vegas Homicide, and this is Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows from the Crime Lab. Would you mind answering a few questions for us?" _

_Faith sank back in her chair and sighed._

_No, things were never that easy._

________________________________________________________________________

**Episode 1.07****: Shakedown, Breakdown**

Faith looked up at the investigators, a feeling of dread suddenly consuming her. Maybe Willow's magic had failed. Maybe her record wasn't as invisible as she'd been led to believe and they were coming to haul her back to Stockton.

Great, that was just what she needed. Being led off to a cop car in handcuffs? Not exactly a great way to impress the ladies.

Doing her best to avoid Buffy's nervous gaze, Faith sighed and gave in.

"Sure thing, officers," she answered, trying her best to appear as calm as ever.

"We're investing a double homicide that happened a few weeks back. Have you ever heard of Cinco de Mayo?" Brass asked, intently watching her face.

Faith sighed with relief on the inside. They weren't coming to lock her up. It had nothing to do with her past; it had to do with all of the strangely linked unexplained homicides that they were investigating. They were asking her about the killings in the alley the night Andrew went to pick up their food.

But what the hell did that have to do with her, and how the hell had they tracked her down?

"Yeah, good food. Gotta try their triple-decker taco with a side of hot sauce. It's killer."

"Killer," Catherine repeated as she stared at Faith, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Wrong choice of word. My bad," Faith said, fidgeting ever-so-slightly. "But yeah, we get food from there now and again. Xander – the guy that let you guys in – he has a thing for spicy Mexican food."

"Your boyfriend?" Grissom asked casually.

"God no!" Faith said, unable to stop the way she sniggered. "He's just my bud. I'm actually . . ."

"With me," Buffy interrupted, her voice shaking almost unnoticeably. Faith quickly turned and looked at Buffy, but Buffy just smiled nervously and continued speaking to the investigators. "She's with me, actually. And we were together that night. I remember because Faith tried to get me to eat her triple-decker taco, but it was way too spicy for me and I ended up chugging like two bottles of Evian."

Faith's eyes were wide with disbelief as Buffy spoke. Buffy was claiming to be her girlfriend? She could ignore the comment about 'eating her taco', because, well . . . Buffy was claiming to be her girlfriend.

Sure, it was just to get the investigators off of her back, but still . . . Buffy was claiming to be her girlfriend!

"You were together with her that night . . . Miss Summers, is it?" Catherine asked, her eyes still narrowed as she looked at Buffy.

"Yes, all night. I was in for a visit from LA, where I actually live. I remember it specifically."

Buffy was doing her best to cover for Faith. She didn't want the cops prying into her past, or accidentally discovering that she had a completely empty record. Prying would be bad. She had to stop them from digging around, even if it meant telling them a few little white lies.

"Then maybe you can explain why we found both of your footprints at the scene of the crime," Catherine said. "I don't need to run a comparative analysis to see that the Xelement boots your girlfriend is wearing are a size nine and a perfect match, though I'm sure I can get a warrant if I need to. And you? I'd guess that you're around a size 7 ½. Am I right?"

Buffy looked down at her size 7 ½ tan suede boots, then back up to Catherine with an intimidated look upon her face.

"I don't see what that has to do with us . . ."

"A witness saw a Black Ford Escape – the truck that's parked outside your house here, Miss Lehane – erratically speeding away from Cinco de Mayo after hitting another vehicle in the parking lot. A short while later, the same witness saw two young women matching your descriptions return to the scene of the crime," Grissom explained.

Buffy and Faith looked at one another, each waiting for the other to speak up and save the day. Neither of them could explain this away though.

As believable as a smoke-based demonic killer was to Buffy and Faith, people not in the know of the supernatural realm would definitely have a hard time believing that one.

Brass stepped forward, a somewhat condescending smile on his face.

"We'd like to ask the both of you to come down to the station to answer some more questions. I think we have some things we need to further discuss."

********************

The feeling of dread deepened within Faith. Being taken in for questioning was _not _a good thing. They were going to delve into her record. They were going to find chunks missing. Things were going to get bad.

And Buffy was being dragged into it, not to mention the fact that Andrew, Dawn and Xander would probably be questioned soon as well.

Faith stood up from her chair, ready to leave with the investigators, when she realized that she needed a moment alone with Buffy and the others. It would be near impossible, but all she needed was two minutes.

"I just need two minutes before we leave to sort things out here. Can we meet you at the station?" she asked.

Brass chuckled quietly as he looked at Faith.

"If I got a dollar every time I heard that, I'd be a very rich man, Miss Lehane. We'll have our car escort you and Miss Summers, this way none of our wires get crossed."

Faith nodded. Of course she'd expected that.

"Fair enough. Still need those two minutes though." She turned to Buffy and looked directly in her eyes. "B, can you go upstairs and tell Andrew what's up? I'll talk to Xander and meet you outside in two."

Buffy nodded, understanding that Faith was up to something. She slipped between the unmoving investigators and went upstairs, hoping beyond hope that Faith would somehow let her know what was up.

"Xan? I need ya for a sec," Faith called out and Xander appeared at the door after a moment, looking as concerned as ever. "Excuse us for just a second," she said to the investigators, hoping they would clear out, even if only for thirty seconds. It was all she needed.

"Sure," Grissom said after a moment, watching her face carefully. He left the room first, followed by Brass and lastly by Catherine. As soon as they were gone, Faith sighed loudly.

"Anya!" she called, her voice barely above a whisper. A moment later, Anya was there in a shimmer of white light. Faith looked between her and Xander, her face serious.

"Right, so they're takin' me and B in for questioning about those bodies in the alley the night Robin died. They've got our footprints and they think we're involved, 'specially since they saw my truck driving away all recklessly when Andy sped outta there. Xander, I want you to get in B's car and take Andy and Dawn back to LA. If the investigators question Andy he's gonna fold like a lawnchair. Keep him far away from here until you get my call."

"No problem," Xander said and nodded, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Anya, get upstairs and tell Buffy the plan. Also tell her that we've gotta be on the same page when they question us. Tell her that Andy picked up the food and hit the other car by accident. He got scared and drove away, but we came back to see the damage. That's when we heard a noise and went to check out what was happening in the alley. We looked to see if we could help, then we had Andy call the cops to report it. Got it?"

"Yes," Anya responded nervously.

"Keep close by when we're at the station, An," Faith finished. "Might need you to talk to Buffy for me if they separate us."

Anya nodded and then shimmered out, just as Brass poked his head in the door.

"Everything okay in here?" he asked, being more nosey than concerned.

"Five by five," Faith answered as she grabbed her jacket from the coat rack and walked by him through the door. "Let's get this show on the road."

Brass waited in the front room for Buffy, who appeared down the stairs after a few moments. She smiled at him nervously as she walked by, trying very hard not to meet his gaze for too long. Brass smiled back, trying to read her as she walked quickly by him and out the door.

He turned back and smiled politely at Xander, who just stood silently with his arms crossed over his chest. After a moment, he turned around and walked through the door, leaving Xander standing there alone.

"Take care of my girls," he said under his breath, staring after the now closed door.

********************

The interrogation room was cold and sterile and very much reminded Faith of places she'd seen between confessing in LA and being sentenced to prison. She knew she was being watched from behind the two-way mirror on the wall so she kept as calm and indifferent as possible.

She didn't know which room they'd put Buffy in, but her slayer senses let her know that she was nearby.

After roughly ten minutes of waiting, Catherine entered the room along with Brass and another male investigator. Brass rested back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest while Catherine and the other investigator sat down at the table, a manila file in Catherine's hands.

"Miss Lehane, this is Nick Stokes. You've already met Catherine," Brass began.

"Stokes?" Faith asked, a grin on her face. When Stokes nodded, Faith laughed. "Right. Well, I'm stoked to meet you."

"Likewise, I'm sure," Stokes responded, unable to hide his own smile. He always _did_ have a soft spot for pretty girls. "Now Miss Lehane, would you care to give us your version of the events of the night in question?"

"Sure," Faith said easily. "My girl B . . . Buffy, right? . . . she was in town for a visit with her kid sister. We were all workin' on my new place, fixin it up and whatnot, and we got hungry. So we ordered some food and Andy, one of my roommates, went to pick it up. It's a new truck though and he wasn't used to drivin it, so he accidentally hit that other car in the lot. Kid panicked, that's the only thing I can tell ya. Took off like a bat outta hell and came and confessed it to me. Me and B checked out my truck, then we went back to see if we could find the other car, exchange insurance with the owner, whatever. That's when we heard something in the alley."

"Two girls, all alone in a dark parking lot. What did you think you could do if you found something bad?" Catherine asked, her face skeptical.

Faith shrugged.

"Not really sure. All I know is, we heard a noise and we went to check it out. Human nature I guess."

"And then what happened?" Stokes asked, cutting Catherine off from asking any more argumentative questions.

********************

"Well, we walked over to the alley, trying to keep pretty quiet. I know the Strip itself is a pretty safe place, but I've heard some pretty scary stories about crime in the other areas of Las Vegas," Buffy explained, telling her version of events to Grissom and another investigator, Sara Sidle.

"What kind of a sound was it?" Grissom asked, watching her intently.

"I guess it was just a kind of . . . shuffling maybe? It sounded like someone was walking around. I can't really be sure."

"And what did you see when you finally approached the alley?"

Buffy took a deep and shaky breath.

"A moving van. Two bodies laying in a pool of blood," she said quietly, her eyes fixed on some random spot in the distance. "Lots and lots of blood."

"Did you see anyone else? Anyone near the bodies or in the alley?" Sidle asked, her pen tapping the table.

"No. No I didn't," Buffy answered. "It was dark, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

"Did you call for help?" Grissom asked.

********************

"No, I just ran over and checked to see if the guy closest to me was alive," Faith answered. "I mean . . . he didn't look good, yunno? And there was blood everywhere. I thought maybe I could help . . . do some CPR or something. It was too late for him though, he was already dead."

Her eyes were focused on the table, recalling events as best as she could without incriminating her or Buffy.

"And what about Buffy; what was she doing when you were checking him?" Catherine asked.

Faith shook her head and looked up.

"I dunno. I think she was checkin' on the other guy. I just couldn't take my eyes off the guy in front of me though. His head was like . . . bashed in. It was wicked gross."

Catherine continued to regard Faith with a skeptical look upon her face. There was no way that Faith wasn't involved in some way or form, she thought. Her story was plausible, but she was hiding something. She knew something more but wasn't spilling, and Catherine needed her to if she was going to stop the senseless and violent string of killings.

"And that's when you called the police?" she asked, hoping to trip Faith up in a lie.

********************

"No, we didn't call the police," Buffy answered Grissom's question. At the slight arch of his eyebrow, she continued. "I mean, we were going to, but then Faith's phone rang so that kind of stopped us. It was Andrew, checking in to see if we'd found the driver of the other vehicle. We told him what we stumbled upon and he begged us to get out of there before the killer came back."

"That explains why the 911 call didn't come from her cell phone," Sidle said quietly to Grissom, who nodded in agreement.

Buffy looked back and forth between the two of them when she realized something.

"Are you telling me that you checked her cell phone records before you even brought her in for questioning?" she asked, surprised.

"It's customary for us to run a license plate check when a vehicle leaves the scene of an accident. Our witness caught the plate number on Miss Lehane's truck, and of course we ran it to see who the truck belonged to. That's when things took . . . an interesting turn."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked nervously.

********************

"Are you aware that your record is completely clear, Miss Lehane?" Catherine asked, a smirk playing across her lips.

"Clear is good, right?" Faith asked casually.

"Yeah, but yours is exceptionally clear. No criminal record, but not much of a personal record either. It starts with a fingerprinting you had done when you were six years old as part of a neighborhood safety program, and then it jumps to a few weeks back when you got a cell phone and purchased your vehicle and registered it. I'd say that's quite a gap in time."

Faith nearly lost her cool façade then. So Willow's mojo had worked a little too well apparently. It was too good to be true, she knew that when Willow and Giles first offered it to her.

And now she was stuck.

"Can't explain that one to ya," Faith said. "Left Boston when I was sixteen and traveled around a lot. Stayed in California for a bit, that's where I met B, and moved here on a whim thinking that it'd be chock full of new opportunities for me. And besides, who doesn't love gambling and legal prostitution?"

The room remained quiet, no one enjoying her attempt at humor.

"I guess we just find it a little bit too much of a coincidence that this girl with no record and a mysterious past pops up in Vegas, stumbles upon a crime scene, and doesn't even stick around long enough to call the cops herself. There are too many loose ends," Stokes said, trying to ease the tension in the room.

"And I get that, I do," Faith said. "But you're barking up the wrong tree, I'm telling ya. Check with the restaurant, we ordered food from there that night and Andy picked it up. He hit the car, sure, but that doesn't make him or us murderers. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I'm happy to help in any way that I can. Seriously, gimme like a magnifying glass and some zip-lock bags and I'll help ya look for clues myself."

Brass chuckled from his spot against the wall. Catherine looked back at him and they shared a few glances with one another before she turned back and faced Faith.

"You came down here voluntarily and that's a plus. We're gonna need to speak with this Andy to get his story too."

"That might be a problem. He went back to L.A. with Buffy's sister. Dawn's not exactly a legal driver yet and she needed to get back home for school or work or somethin. I'll give ya his number though; I'm sure he won't mind going through a bit of Q & A."

"If your story checks with your girlfriend's and we can corroborate Andy's story with yours, we have no legal reason to keep you here. But I _will_ tell you this much, Miss Lehane," Catherine said and leaned in closer, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Faith, "we match any bloody fingerprints to the ones we have from when you were six, I will bring you back here and lock you up myself. You're not telling us something."

"You've got the whole story," Faith said, not backing down under Catherine's intense glare.

"We'll see about that as soon as the reports come back from forensics. Until then, I'm going to have to ask you not to leave Las Vegas. We'll be keeping an eye on you and Miss Summers in the meanwhile. I'd tread very carefully, Miss Lehane."

Catherine got up from her seat and exited the room with Brass following after her, leaving only Stokes and Faith in the room together.

"I'm beginning to think that she doesn't like me," Faith joked as she slumped back in her chair.

"Who, Catherine? I wouldn't take it personally, she just takes our job very seriously. Just stay in the area, alright? We've got data being processed through the labs as we speak and we'll be in contact when we get some results."

"Right," Faith said. She stood up and cracked her back, then looked down at Stokes. "I can leave now, right?"

Stokes looked out the open door and saw Grissom and Catherine speaking together in hushed tones. When Grissom looked over and gave him a little nod, he looked back to Faith.

"You're free to leave. We'll be in touch."

"Can't wait!" Faith said feigning excitement.

She walked out of the stuffy room and found Buffy waiting for her in the hallway looking as anxious as ever. As casually as possible, she walked over to her and grabbed her hand, then led her down the hall and to the front of the building where a deputy was waiting to take them back home.

********************

The Last re-entered the upstairs bathroom at Faith's with as much ease as when he'd left. When the trail of black smoke was fully in the room he took his human form, stretching with a pleased grin on his face.

"Time to collect, my babies."

He caressed the amulet on his chest and held out his hands waiting for his essences to return to him. After a few moments passed and nothing happened, he frowned and gently caressed the amulet again.

Still, nothing happened. Obviously a bit annoyed and confused, he took his smoke form and crept under the bathroom door, slithering throughout the house and looking for everyone that he infected. They should have been there, consumed with indulgence and brimming with sin for him to steal.

But the house was empty and bags had been packed and taken. They'd somehow found a way to override his magic, and _that_ was just unacceptable.

Stopping once he'd reached the living room, he took his human form again, a look of anger on his face. He took one last look around the downstairs rooms before walking into Faith's office, trying to read the energies in there.

"No, this won't do at all," he seethed.

********************

Buffy entered the house first, followed by Faith who slammed the door shut behind her.

"Shit!" Faith exclaimed, running her hands through her hair.

"Faith, calm down. It's not as bad as it seems."

It was the first chance they'd had to discuss anything. They couldn't openly speak with the deputy driving them home, and despite the fact that they were inside the house now, the deputy's car was still parked just down the street.

"Not as bad as it seems?" Faith repeated excitedly. "B, I dunno how much they told you, but my record is pretty much a blank slate. Put me at the scene of the crime – which they have – and I'm the primary suspect!"

"They wouldn't have let you go if they'd thought you really did it," Buffy said, trying to soothe her.

"Maybe they don't think I did it, but they know I know something. That bitch in the interrogation told me that much. They're gonna dig and dig and I'm gonna end up back behind bars."

"Faith, calm down," Buffy tried again, putting a comforting hand on Faith's forearm. "They have nothing to go on. We're going to wait patiently for them to make calls to Andrew and to get their reports back from forensics, and then we're going to get on with our lives. Besides our footprints they have nothing but speculation, and that isn't enough to send us to jail."

"Says the girl without a criminal past," Faith snapped, then sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a big giant freak right now but I can't help it; I'm freakin. You're probably right . . ."

"I'm what?" Buffy asked, a playful smile on her face.

Faith looked over at her and caught on, unable to stop the chuckle that escaped her.

"I said you're probably right, B. Mark it in your calendar, whatever. It ain't likely to happen again."

"This is true. You know what that means, of course."

"What?" Faith asked, confused.

"It means we have to celebrate. We're alone in the house, we're being investigated in a double homicide, and I still haven't seen all the sights and sounds of Vegas. You're taking me out," Buffy said sternly.

And honestly, it didn't take that much to convince Faith that it was a good idea. If she had to sit around the house and wait for the call, she'd go crazy and end up taking Buffy with her.

"A night out on the town before I get arrested and hauled off to the clink? Yeah, I can handle that, B. Cops have my cell number, they'll call if they need us, I guess."

"Great. I'm gonna go upstairs and get ready, I won't be long at all."

Buffy turned around and began to skip up the steps but slowed down as something dawned on her. She turned around and walked down the steps, looking around the front room.

"Problem?" Faith asked, watching her curiously.

"If Xander forgetting to unpack my bags from the car before they left constitutes a problem, yes."

Faith laughed and headed towards the stairs, beckoning Buffy after her.

"You can borrow whatever you need from my room, B."

Buffy just stayed where she was though, looking a bit hesitant. When Faith noticed she was walking upstairs alone, she turned and faced Buffy an eyebrow raised in question

"Not that I'm not appreciative of the offer and all, but I think that you and I have had enough bedroom fun together."

And it was true, too. But they were back to their normal senses with very clear ideas of what they were and weren't supposed to be doing with one another now.

Bedroom fun? That was a bad idea. Or at least it was easier to think that it was.

With an easy smile on her face, Faith stepped down the last two steps and stood before Buffy.

"I get it, B. It was easy to blame it on the Lust before, but now you're afraid you're gonna have nothing to blame it on. I'm irresistible. Totally get why you're afraid to be near the nice big bed with me."

Giving Buffy a wink, she turned on her heel and went up the stairs. Buffy watched her go, then quickly followed after her, rising to the unsaid challenge.

"You're so wrong. And you're also the cockiest person I've ever met!"

********************

Buffy sat fidgeting in the passenger seat of Faith's truck, adjusting the shirt that kept riding up and showing her navel. Of course she knew that she had the body to pull it off but she didn't quite have the confidence. Rather, she didn't have as much confidence as Faith did.

"Quit fidgeting, B, you look hot in my shirt."

"It's way too small. How do you even fit in this thing?"

"Very carefully," Faith replied, grinning. She kept her eyes on the road in front of her but kept stealing quick glances at Buffy out of the corner of her eye.

As inconspicuously as possible, Buffy lifted the front collar of the shirt and sniffed it, her brow instantly furrowing.

"This smells like you," she said, taking another quick whiff.

"Yeah, think I wore it a couple days ago. Don't worry though, it's basically clean."

"Oh great!" Buffy scoffed. "Not only am I wearing a dirty shirt but you wouldn't let me use your deodorant either."

"Gotta draw the line somewhere, B. I'm a firm believer in keeping your pit sweat to yourself."

"Fine, fine," Buffy said with a grimace. "But you're the one who has to face the consequences if I start to get ripe. In fact," she said and casually lifted her arms up, interlocking her fingers behind her head, "I'm starting to feel a bit moist."

Faith laughed and cracked a window open, letting some fresh air in.

"Maybe you were right about bedroom fun. Can't even let you in my room to get changed without ya gettin' all moist on me." At Buffy's playful glare, Faith changed the subject. "So where are we goin any way? Gotta tell me some general direction to head in."

"I'm open to suggestions, but I heard that there's a shopping center in the Aladdin that's a mile long. In a circle!"

Faith's smile immediately fell.

"B, you don't come to Vegas to shop. They have shopping in LA."

"Would you care to educate me on proper Vegas tourism then?" Buffy asked, mocking Faith. "You tell me where we should be going if you're the expert."

Just then, a small chirping sound filled the inside of the car. Faith turned down the radio and grabbed her cell phone from her pocket, flicking it open with ease. She grinned as she read the message.

"Strip club it is," she said as she closed her phone and tucked it back inside her pocket, not sparing Buffy a glance.

"Where??"

********************

****Suggested listening: The Moneymaker by Rilo Kiley****

The music in the club was loud but not as loud as the sound of Buffy's own heart beating loudly in her ears. She was never one to label herself as prude, but she still couldn't get over the fact that Faith had brought her to a place like this.

A strip club!

A strip club full of half-naked ladies!

She could've been happy going to see the Australian all-male dance review at New York New York, but a strip club? Oh no. This she was not quite okay with. The only naked female she'd ever seen besides herself was Faith, and she was _still_ dealing with that whole thing as it was.

"I can't believe you brought me here!" she said in a loud whisper, clinging tightly to Faith's elbow. A dancer walked by and winked at Buffy, making her grip onto Faith's arm all the tighter.

"Calm down, B, we're not actually staying. Camryn got some new info, told me to stop by when I could. We'll be outta here in ten minutes tops and then you can make me shop or do whatever touristy thing ya want."

Faith looked from Buffy out into the club, searching for Camryn amongst the crowd. Buffy looked from the crowd to Faith, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Wait, the same Camryn who helped you find Jil'hanesh and who makes with the friendly calls? She works here?"

"Yup, all five feet and seven inches of her. That a problem?"

"No, no," Buffy covered quickly. "Are you two . . .?"

"Nah, it's innocent enough, least on my part. She's hurtin for some flirtin, but you know me; always on my best behavior."

"Somehow that fails to comfort me," Buffy said under her breath, watching the patrons of the club over her shoulder. Suddenly she realized that they weren't walking any longer and she looked up to find Faith staring down at her.

"Is this what jealous-Buffy looks like? I mean it's cute and all, but totally not needed seein as that you're only pretending to be my girl and all," Faith said, amused. She wasn't sure why Buffy was acting like Camryn was some type of competition. Yes, Camryn was hot and obviously into Faith, but there wasn't supposed to be a competition. Buffy was a whole bowl full of wholesome straightness, at least until lust took over.

"This is not jealous-Buffy, this is inquisitive-Buffy. There's a subtle yet noticeable difference. I just didn't know that you, umm, hang out in places like this. Not that I'm judging! It's just that, well, after hearing about your past boyfriends, I didn't think that . . . I mean, well . . . maybe it should've been obvious, but . . ."

"B? Take a breath," Faith said, looking back at Buffy. "I've only been here once, and that was with Xander to find Jil-hanesh. Our little escapade into sexual deviance was my first in a long, long time, got it?"

"So you're not . . ?" Buffy began, waiting for Faith to fill in the blank.

Was she seriously inquiring about Faith's sexuality?

Faith, however, wasn't ready to fill in the blanks. Not when she didn't know how to categorize herself in the first place. Luckily for her, that's when she spotted Camryn approaching them with a knowing smile on her face.

"Hey Faith. Long time no see," she began, flirty but trying to respect Faith's boundaries especially given her company.

"Yeah, things have been a bit busy. Got your text and decided to head on over since we were out and about anyhow," Faith said casually, trying hard as she could not to check Camryn out, especially not with Buffy keenly observing their conversation.

"And this is?" Camryn asked, smiling at Buffy.

"Probably really awkward for her," Faith said with a grin. "Cam, this is B, and she's a strip-club virgin. I told her we'd go easy on her being her first time and all."

"So no bringing her up on stage then," Camryn said as she held her hand out to Buffy with a polite smile.

"Not unless you'd like to explain my limp and lifeless body to the club-goers," Buffy said as she politely shook Camryn's hand. "I'm Buffy, and I apologize in advance for any generally wiggyness. I tend to become weird and awkward in situations where clothing is strategically removed for entertainment purposes."

"Duly noted," Camryn said, laughing quietly. "We'll make this as quick and as painless for you as possible. I got an odd call a little while ago. Friend of yours," she said, addressing Faith now.

"Xander?" Faith asked, confused. "I knew he copied your number down when he found it on my desk. Horndog, that guy."

"No, not Xander. Jil-hanesh. He's long gone from here but he saw something and he wanted to give a warning. Said I'd know how to contact you."

"What's up?" Faith asked, her face serious now.

"He saw what happened to you with the cops today before it even happened. They think it's you, but they're about to change their minds."

"I didn't do shit!" Faith defended herself.

"I know, and I believe you. I can feel it. Doesn't matter what I think, though, and doesn't matter what they think either. While you were being questioned, The Last went back to your place. You were all supposed to be infected, that's what Jil said anyhow. Needless to say, The Last wasn't happy to find out that you circumvented him."

'Circumvented?' Buffy thought. Since when did strippers use words like that? She'd need to start brushing up on her vocabulary if she was going to keep up.

"What happened?" Faith asked, her tone dark and dangerous.

Camryn paused, looking into Faith's eyes for a few moments before continuing.

"He infected some construction workers. Wrath. Cops are at the crime scene now. You were at the questioning and an unmarked car has been following you since. They know you weren't involved."

Faith clenched her jaw tightly, looking from Camryn out to some spot in the club.

"Faith, it wasn't your fault. If you and your friends hadn't been saved, we would have absolutely zero hope of beating this thing. You can't save everyone, but you offer hope. That's the best thing according to Jil," she said softly, trying to bring Faith down from her rage.

"Still feel like a fuckin failure though," Faith said, her voice low.

Buffy unconsciously gripped Faith's bicep a little tighter, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"You're not. Faith, do you remember how I told you that I'm observant? Well, it's true, but there's more. I can read people, sense their feelings. I can sense whether someone is good or bad just by looking at them. I can't explain it, but it's something I've always been able to do. And from the moment that I met you, I knew you were gonna do great things. It's just a feeling; there are no visions to prove it, but I've never been wrong. This battle isn't over."

Faith's cell phone began to ring then, interrupting the awkward and painful moment. Faith looked down at the small phone and then back up at Camryn, a wry smile on her face.

"Tell that to the people that died, Cam. Uh, listen, I'm gonna run outside and take this really quick; kinda loud in here."

Not giving Buffy the chance to follow her, Faith quickly made her way toward the exit, pushing the phone to one ear and covering her other ear with her free hand. Buffy just watched her go, no longer feeling awkward. She mainly just felt bad for Faith.

"So you're her," Camryn said rather than asked, grabbing Buffy's attention.

"I'm who?" Buffy asked, pointing to her chest.

"Hot blonde, suppressed anger. You're the one she thinks hates her," Camryn said, watching Buffy's face.

Buffy's eyebrows furrowed together, a confused look upon her face. Faith had talked to Camryn about her before? And if she did, why had she said such things?

"What? I don't hate her. That's ridiculous, I . . ."

"Hey," Camryn interrupted, holding her hands up in surrender, "didn't say I believe it; it's what _she _believes. First time I met her she told me that the only hot blonde she was interested in came with a side of suppressed anger and hate directed right at her. I just put the pieces together."

"But that's stupid," Buffy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Faith and I don't have the best track record but I definitely don't hate her. She's way off."

"I'm not the one that you should be telling that to," Camryn said, smiling gently. "Girl has some serious self-confidence issues despite the bravado. Most of that is coming from the fact that she thinks you hate her, and well . . . she definitely doesn't hate you."

Camryn tried to keep the knowing smile off of her face, but with the way that Buffy was looking at her – like she was completely crazy – it was hard to hide.

"How do you know all of this? And what do you mean?" Buffy asked quickly, still confused and now more than a bit anxious.

"Like I told Faith, my powers of observation are off the chart. And besides, I can just _feel_ it. She's doing everything she can do to be the kind of person that you'll lo……well, not hate," Camryn explained, quickly correcting herself.

"But I _already_ don't hate her," Buffy said quietly. "I mean, it's . . . it's complicated. Faith and I always have complications – it's very complicatey stuff -- but I think we're getting better at . . ."

"Like I said: don't tell me, tell her." Camryn nodded to the right and Buffy looked over, watching as Faith approached them.

Faith walked up, instantly noting the change in Buffy's demeanor. The girl looked worried and sad, and not at all like the embarrassed and frightened mess that she was when Faith left to answer her phone.

"Everything okay here?" At Buffy's nod, Faith continued. "That was Xander. Cops called and talked to Andy, got his version of the story. Xan said he did a real good job and only cried like a baby for like two minutes."

"So he's toughening up then," Buffy said sarcastically.

"Like a sponge," Faith said, watching as Buffy looked down and avoided her gaze. When she looked over at Camryn, the girl offered her a small smile and shook her head 'no' so that Faith wouldn't get into it there. "Right, so ah, anything else I need to know or do, Cam?"

"Just keep your head low, Faith. The cops are gonna wrap up their investigation soon. All you have to do is wait it out and play the part for the cop that's following you. In the meanwhile, watch your back. The Last is gonna have one hell of a personal vendetta against you."

"Right, so add one more person to the list of people who hate me and wanna kill me. What else is new?"

Buffy looked up as Faith spoke, her own inner turmoil clear on her face. Faith looked at her and narrowed her eyes, trying to read her.

"You ready to go then, B? Think I had a brainfart and promised you we could shop or something."

Buffy gave a small smile in response, nodding her head.

"Yeah, let's go." She turned at looked at Camryn, offering her the same small smile. "Nice meeting you."

"Likewise," Camryn said and then looked over to Faith. "Be careful."

"Always am."

Buffy and Faith began to make their way toward the exit. When a few patrons of the club got in Buffy's way and gave her a few catcalls, she just wrapped her arms tighter around herself and kept her head down, not clinging to Faith the way that she had before.

********************

Faith walked slowly along with her hands buried deep in her pockets, trying to figure out what the hell had happened to make Buffy so uncomfortably quiet. They'd been in the shopping loop at The Aladdin for nearly an hour now. Buffy had barely stepped into two stores, her earlier enthusiasm for shopping seemingly lost.

She didn't know if maybe Camryn had said something to upset Buffy, but she had to find out. Shit, she knew she shouldn't have taken Buffy into the club with her!

"You're unusually quiet," Faith said, trying to sound casual.

Buffy shrugged, looking down at the tiled floor as they walked slowly along.

"Just thinking I guess."

Faith just nodded in response, hoping that Buffy would continue. After several more minutes of continued silence, Faith tried again.

"Don't worry B, Cam said this is all gonna be over soon. All we gotta do is wait it out and then you can get back to your life."

"Mmhmm," Buffy agreed with a small nod. "She seems nice. Camryn, I mean."

Faith shrugged, not giving it too much thought. "Yeah, she's not bad. Can always use more allies."

A few more minutes of silence went by as they walked along, looking into shop windows as they passed. Faith waited for Buffy to do or say something to indicate that she was okay. She didn't of course, so Faith had to try a new tactic. She walked in front of Buffy and spun around so that she was facing her, walking backwards. Buffy looked up, puzzled by Faith's sudden appearance before her.

"Here I let you drag me shoppin' and you're not even enjoying yourself. What, you need me to play tour guide? Do a few tricks? I can juggle, yunno," Faith said, a playful grin on her face.

Buffy smiled, watching as Faith narrowly avoided stumbling over a trash bin.

"I'm enjoying myself. Now walk normally again, you're gonna hurt yourself."

"Impossible. Do ya realize how thick my skull is? I'd probably break the floor."

"…you're probably right," Buffy said with a quiet laugh.

"Probably am. So come on, B, what do I gotta do to get ya back to being your fun self?" Faith was temporarily distracted as she looked over Buffy's shoulder and saw that they were being followed by the cop from earlier. "Coppers at 12 o'clock."

Buffy furrowed her brow.

"My 12 o'clock or your 12 o'clock?"

"What?" Faith asked, confused now. She lifted her arm and pointed, "He's right there, B."

Buffy quickly smacked Faith's arm down, hoping that she hadn't drawn attention to them. Clasping her hand around Faith's, she tugged her over so that they were walking side-by-side again.

"I know Camryn said that they're gonna find out we're innocent but we need to play the part for now. Now, be my doting girlfriend and buy me something," Buffy said, her hand still clasped around Faith's.

Faith slipped her hand from Buffy's and instead laced their fingers together, sighing as she realized that Buffy was right. "Fine, but I hate shopping. If we're pretending that you're my girl, we're gonna do it right."

Buffy smiled despite the way she was feeling; in spite of what Camryn had told her. She should feel weird, walking through a public place holding hands with Faith. She'd held hands with Willow on several occasions, but this felt different, especially with the way they'd been intimate earlier.

"What did you have in mind?"

********************

"Twenty-two people stuffed into a small box is your idea of a date?" Buffy asked, trying her best to keep from touching the other people in the crowded elevator.

"You sure are picky for this being a pretend date," Faith replied. "Least it got us away from the tail for awhile, and besides, you can use a little culture."

Buffy raised an eyebrow and just glared at Faith.

"I hardly call going to the top of a fake Eiffel Tower in the middle of the Vegas strip culture. And what do you mean I can use some culture? I have culture! I have culture coming out of the wazoo! I lived in Italy, remember?"

"For like a month," Faith quipped, ignoring Buffy's playful glare.

She'd brought her to Paris simply because it was next to The Aladdin and because she could get Buffy up and away from the cop that was tailing them for a while. It wasn't her best plan. The top of the small replica tower was packed with tourists trying to snap pictures of the strip all lit up at night. Buffy spent most of her time up there cramped in a small corner between viewing machines, trying to fend off a pushy vendor who was trying to sell her a beret.

They'd spent less time up there than the tickets were worth, but at least they'd had a moment to chill out without worrying who was watching them and what they should be doing as a pretend couple.

As the large metal doors opened, Buffy and Faith practically ran out of the cramped elevator and back down the stairs to the casino floor. Buffy walked over to what was one of the legs of the tower that protruded onto the gaming floor and rested back against it, taking a deep breath.

"No more enclosed spaces," she said evenly.

"Claustrophobic?"

"You'd be surprised how much waking up in a coffin can alter your view of small spaces."

"Right."

A few moments of silence passed by as both girls just relaxed. Faith looked over towards one of the restaurants and chuckled quietly.

"Looks like our cop got hungry. He's having a snack at the restaurant. Bet he didn't even see us get off the elevator. We could ditch him if you want . . ."

"That's a bad idea if I've ever heard one," Buffy interrupted. "Just a few more hours 'til they call him off, I'm sure."

"True. How bout I get us some certified French cuisine? That'll pass some time, and besides, I could eat a fuckin horse right about now." At Buffy's nod, Faith brightened right up. "Wicked. I'll go and get the grub and you meet me at that little table over there," she said, pointing to a small patio area just outside of the restaurant within the casino."

Buffy didn't end up waiting long. After about five minutes Faith showed up with two big cups full of French fries and about a hundred packets of ketchup.

"This is your idea of French food?" Buffy said, laughing as she helped Faith take the two cups from her hands.

"Hey, I can go back and get the rabbit and frog if you want?" Faith pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, indicating the restaurant she'd just come out of.

"Mmm, French fries," Buffy said, quickly changing her tune.

"That's what I thought," Faith grumbled.

They ate in a comfortable silence, Faith dousing her fries with ketchup and Buffy watching with amusement. Contrary to what Faith thought, Buffy did not agree that ketchup made everything taste better. The fries were good on their own, and she didn't dare try to steal one of Faith's ketchup packets. The chaos that would ensue was so not worth it.

When all was said and done they got up from the table and walked aimlessly around the casino, just trying to pass the time.

"So on a scale of one to ten, is this the best fake-date ya ever had or what?" Faith asked, elbowing Buffy playfully.

"Meh," Buffy said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You promised me culture, and honestly? I don't feel very French."

Faith stopped walking and grinned. She was hoping Buffy would say that. She reached into her back pocket, pulling out some type of black fabric. She unrolled it and straightened it out before putting it on Buffy's head and adjusting it properly.

Buffy nearly snorted with laughter when she saw that it was a beret. Faith must've bought it from the vendor at the top of the tower.

"Oh, well this changes everything!" Buffy said, straightening her hair with her fingertips so that it didn't hang in her eyes.

"There," Faith said, making the final adjustment. "Now you're the Frenchiest person here."

"Frenchiest? I think you made that up," Buffy said, feeling very much like a child being fussed over by its mother in public.

"Totally didn't. I'm probably the smartest person you'll ever meet, B. All that time ya wasted hating me when ya coulda been learning from me. It's a good thing you're finally coming around now though," Faith said jokingly.

But something hit Buffy then. That word again: _hate_. She'd tried to ignore it after Camryn had said something, but there was no more letting it slide. She couldn't just let it be this time.

"Why do you think I hate you?" she suddenly asked, her smile gone.

"What?" Faith asked, her smile slipping as she met Buffy's eyes.

"Camryn said that you think I hate you. I just . . . I guess I want to know why."

She tried to keep looking into Faith's eyes but Faith went back to adjusting Buffy's beret, looking everywhere but at Buffy's imploring eyes.

"Cos something like that just doesn't go away," Faith said with a shrug. "The way I fucked you over . . . I know you hated me; hell, I hated me too. Feelings that strong don't just go away. They simmer."

"There's no simmering," Buffy said, still trying to look into Faith's eyes. "I told you, this is a fresh start, a do-over. But I need to know what it is I'm doing that makes you think I hate you. I mean . . . I have some changing to do too, Faith, and I thought I was doing really well, but . . ."

"Don't drive yourself crazy over it, B; it's nothing you're doing. It's just . . . shit like that can't be under rug swept, yunno?" She finally met Buffy's eyes again, trying her best to hide her own pain. Her fingers lightly pulled at pieces of Buffy's hair, moving them to the sides of her face.

"But maybe a big vacuum came and sucked it all up, took it all away. Voila! No more issues, no more mess."

Faith exhaled softly through her nose as she laughed silently, her warm breath caressing Buffy's face. When had they gotten so close?

"That's why you're the Chosen One, B; you couldn't be a better person if you tried."

"I'm trying very hard, actually," Buffy said quietly, looking down.

Faith, however, moved her fingertips under Buffy's chin and made her look back up so their eyes met again. Several moments of silence passed between them before their lips met softly, neither girl sure who'd moved in and initiated the kiss. They kissed tentatively, lips just barely brushing against each others. Faith's hand moved to Buffy's cheek, tracing it gently with her thumb.

Buffy moaned softly against Faith's lips, floored by the unexpected but appreciated gentle caress.

The kiss, however, was ended shortly at the sound of Faith's cell phone ringing. Faith exhaled through her nose and pulled away, closing her eyes as she lifted the phone to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"_Miss Lehane, this is Detective Jim Brass. We've had some new evidence come in on top of a new case. The gist of it tells us that you and Miss Summers clearly can't be indicted in the events that happened. We won't be bothering you any further."_

"Good to know," Faith said, finally opening her eyes to find Buffy staring at her in wonder.

"_If you remember anything from the night in question, anything at all . . ."_

"Yeah, I've got your number," Faith said, unable to look away from Buffy. "Later, chief."

She clicked her phone shut and shook her head as if to break the spell she was under. Looking down as she tucked the phone back in her pocket, she said,

"Looks like you were right; we're free men or whatever. You can call Xander, tell him he can come back whenever. Bringing Andy is optional, of course."

Buffy finally looked away from Faith's face and down at her silver watch, checking out the time. It was after 10:00pm already; by the time she called Xander and they got back, it would be so late.

Besides, she needed some time to deal with what just happened between her and Faith again.

They'd kissed. There was no outside influence, no lust tugging at them. It was just them and their feelings, and now they'd be left to deal with it yet again.

"It's pretty late. I'll call and tell them to come in the morning. There's no use making them drive here this late. That is, of course, if you don't mind me staying one more night."

"Can stay as long as ya want, B. Ya know that already."

Faith casually looked around the casino, perking up when she saw the cop that was tailing them retreat toward the exit.

"Looks like we can call it quits on the pretend date now," she said, watching him leave.

"Oh. Right," Buffy agreed, following Faith's line of sight.

"Ya mind if we call it a night, B? It's been a long day, we can probably use some rest."

"Yeah, sure," Buffy answered, all too aware of the change in Faith since they'd kissed again.

Faith was avoiding, and even more, she was trying to convince herself that it was just something casual. After all, why would Buffy let her kiss her if it wasn't for the cop following them?

Whatever, Faith thought. She wanted to get home and go to bed so that the next day would come already. Today was just too damned weird and confusing.

********************

****Suggested music for the next TWO scenes: Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You) by Aqualung** **

They didn't say much on the way back to Faith's place. Faith had turned the music up a little bit too loud for any casual conversation to take place. She was done talking for now; they'd done enough talking already.

Buffy kept stealing inconspicuous gazes at Faith out of the corner of her eye, trying to read her, but it was impossible. Some kind of mask had been slipped on, some kind of wall had gone up; and the worst part was that Buffy didn't want it there. They'd hid behind masks and walls for most of the time that they'd known one another.

Right when they were finally being honest with one another, BAM! Back to square one.

Faith pulled the truck into the parking spot nearest the house and quickly got out, making her way toward the front door. Buffy followed slowly, allowing Faith ample space. The last thing she needed was some kind of knock-down drag-out fight. She just wanted things to be easy.

By the time she walked in the front door, Faith was already walking out of the kitchen with a tall glass of juice in her hand.

"Plenty more where this came from if ya want some," Faith said, nodding towards the kitchen. "Think Andy made it fresh this morning; some kinda strawberry peach banana concoction. I dunno, but whatever the hell it is, it's good."

"Yeah, maybe I'll have some in the morning. Think I'm just gonna . . . head up. Like you said, long day."

Faith took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, nodding her head.

"Yeah, I get that. Well, sleep tight, holler if ya need anything or whatever. Just gonna chill and finish my juice. I'll be up in a bit."

"Faith drinking a glass of juice and going to bed before midnight. Never thought I'd see the day," Buffy said with a smile.

Faith smiled and laughed softly, looking down at the floor before looking up at Buffy kinda shyly.

"Yunno me, B. Don't like to be too predictable."

Buffy just smiled at her, their gazes locking for a few moments too long, before shaking her head slightly and walking toward the stairs.

"Goodnight, Faith."

Faith watched her retreat up the stairs, finally whispering 'Night B' when she was out of sight. She flopped down on the couch after a moment or two, just taking some time to chill out in the mostly darkened room. The sound of the water running in the bathroom upstairs let her know that Buffy was getting ready for bed, and that was a good thing. She'd wait for a little while and then go up to her own room.

They'd had enough odd encounters already.

After about five minutes passed, Faith heard the sound of soft footsteps on the stairs. She opened her eyes and looked over to find Buffy standing there looking a bit shy.

"Everything okay?"

"Actually, I'm pajama-less. Xander took my bag and I don't have anything to sleep in. Could I borrow a t-shirt or something?"

"Yeah, sure," Faith said.

She stood up and finished off her glass of juice, then quickly put it in the kitchen before coming back to the living room to find Buffy still waiting for her. She gave her a quick smile and then headed upstairs, Buffy in tow the whole time.

Now, she wasn't sure exactly what Buffy was hoping for in a t-shirt. All of hers were short and tight just like the one she'd borrowed earlier and was still wearing. Buffy had seen that firsthand as Faith had rummaged through her dresser and closet earlier that evening.

Still, she rummaged further and deeper in the drawers, hoping to find a stashed concert t-shirt or something that could pass as a night shirt.

"A-ha!" she said as she stood up straight, clutching a Beastie Boys t-shirt in her hands. She spun around to find Buffy surprisingly close to her. Hadn't she been waiting at the door a moment ago? "Found one."

"Thanks," Buffy said quietly, accepting the proffered shirt. She looked down at it, then tossed it over onto the bed and looked back up at Faith. She gazed into her eyes, the small table lamp barely illuminating Faith's face.

Buffy didn't need light though. The dim light of the moon from the window was enough for her to be able to look into Faith's eyes and so much deeper. She tentatively lifted her hand to Faith's face, her fingertips trembling as she traced them gently over her cheek.

Faith's lips parted almost unnoticeably as she stared at Buffy, trying to figure out exactly what she was doing. This wasn't some kind of gesture shared between friends; this was something _more_. Buffy took that opportunity to brush her thumb over Faith's full bottom lip, noticing the shaky breath that Faith took as she did so.

"B? What . . .?"

"Shh," Buffy replied softly.

Looking into dark eyes once again, she leaned up on her tip-toes and softly brushed her lips over Faith's as her hand continued to caress her cheek. She ran her other hand down Faith's right arm, pulling it around her lower back so that Faith was holding her.

Faith sighed shakily, finally giving into the sensations that Buffy was making her feel; had always made her feel.

Outside, The Last watched through the window with an evil grin.

********************

Faith awoke to the feel of fingertips moving gently along her back from between her shoulder blades, down to her butt, and back up. The touch was tentative, like Buffy wasn't trying to wake her but just needed to touch her.

She lifted her head on the pillow and moved it so that she was resting on her other cheek, facing Buffy. Buffy smiled shyly at her, fully clothed now, her eyes going back to watching her fingertips move along Faith's back.

"Kinda tickles," Faith said, her voice low and raspy.

"Sorry," Buffy whispered but made no efforts to stop.

"Mmm," Faith mumbled appreciatively, closing her eyes once again.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, completely silent until Faith spoke again.

"So when are you leaving?" Faith asked, a hint of defeat in her voice.

Buffy smiled sadly but didn't stop her gentle caresses.

"Soon. Xander and Andrew are nearly here."

"Ahh," Faith said. She rolled over onto her back and stretched languidly, hurting in all the right places. "It's been a while and all, but I thought I was the one about gettin' some and gettin' gone."

She looked over at Buffy, smiling so that Buffy knew she wasn't angry.

"I'm not getting gone, not really anyhow. I . . . I have to get back to LA. Dawn is there, and Willow is flying in later today. Giles still needs a hand with research and Dawn and I need to start looking into schools for her . . ."

"Chill, B, I get it. Life is in LA. It's cool," Faith said easily.

"It doesn't mean that I don't . . ."

"Hey, no need to explain," Faith interrupted. She didn't want to hear excuses, especially when she knew that Buffy had a barrel of good ones.

"But I do need to explain," Buffy began as she scooted closer, "because I don't want you to think that I think last night was a mistake or something. It wasn't any weird magic either."

"Yeah?" Faith asked. "What was it then?"

Because honestly, she didn't know.

Buffy laid her hand on Faith's stomach, her fingertips softly caressing her skin as she looked up at Faith's face.

"It was us. I felt you, Faith. For the first time in years, I just felt you; no bullshit, no drama. It was just us."

"Yeah," Faith said, tentatively putting her hand over Buffy's. "But the big bad world awaits and it's time to be heroes again."

"Right," Buffy agreed, nodding somewhat sadly.

"We're cool then, right?" Faith asked, trying to look into Buffy's eyes again.

Buffy looked up, smiling gently as she nodded, "Yeah, we're cool."

Faith wanted to kiss Buffy. She wanted to seal the deal, make it known that they were okay with everything that had happened, but then she heard the sound of keys jangling as Andrew and Xander made their way up the front sidewalk.

"So what now?" Faith asked.

"We research, we give you the info, and you kill the bad guy," Buffy answered easily.

Faith looked down, a look of doubt upon her face.

"I don't know if I can."

Buffy smiled and stood up from the bed, adjusting her clothing as she looked down at Faith.

"_We_ can."

Faith looked up and found Buffy's smile and assurance unwavering. She smiled finally and Buffy winked at her before walking out of the door, greeting Xander and Andrew in the living room downstairs.

Rolling onto her side and grabbing the pillow Buffy was resting on, Faith pulled it up to her chest and buried her face in it, closing her eyes.

"No weird magic this time around, but I'm definitely under your spell, B."

**~Roll credits~**


	8. Episode 8: Who You Gonna Call?

Previously on Walk The Line:

"_So what now?" Faith asked._

"_We research, we give you the info, and you kill the bad guy," Buffy answered easily._

_Faith looked down, a look of doubt upon her face._

"_I don't know if I can."_

_Buffy smiled and stood up from the bed, adjusting her clothing as she looked down at Faith._

"_**We**__ can."_

_Faith looked up and found Buffy's smile and assurance unwavering. She smiled finally and Buffy winked at her before walking out of the door, greeting Xander and Andrew in the living room downstairs._

_Rolling onto her side and grabbing the pillow Buffy was resting on, Faith pulled it up to her chest and buried her face in it, closing her eyes._

"_No weird magic this time around, but I'm definitely under your spell, B."_

________________________________________________________________________

**Episode 1.08****: Who You Gonna Call?**

Faith sighed and tried to relax though it was near impossible in her current situation. Andrew was hovering just to her side, trying to affix some type of device to her ear that was emitting a low buzzing noise despite the fact that he said it was safe. He was going on and on about how soft her hair was and, to stop herself from swatting him like a fly against the nearest wall, she tried to distract herself.

Closing her eyes, she thought of happier times. Happier things. A lascivious grin appeared on her face which she quickly hid when her mind drifted to the previous days with Buffy. Sure there were some bad times mixed in there too, but the good overshadowed the bad. Especially the part where they'd fucked like . . .

_Zap!_

"Ahh!" Faith yelled, her eyes flying open to look accusingly at Andrew as she cupped her still-stinging ear.

"Sorry, my bad," Andrew shrugged and smiled apologetically.

"Thought you said that thing is safe?"

"It is. It's just the tweaking part that's a little . . . umm, less precise."

Faith gave him a threatening glare before facing forward and giving her ear one last comforting rub. Once again she closed her eyes and tried to get back to her happy place. She felt Andrew's hand soft on the side of her head as he fiddled with the contraption but it wasn't his hand she was imagining now; it was Buffy's. She could still feel Buffy's breath soft against her face as their foreheads rested together, her hand sliding down between them to feel her warm, wet . . .

_Zap!_

"Son of a…!" Faith yelled as the earpiece zapped her again, sending a sharp electric current throughout her body. "What the hell do you have that thing hooked up to, a car battery?"

She rubbed her ear tenderly as Andrew fumbled around on the table for another tool that would do the job better.

"Not exactly but you're not that far off either. I had to use a bit of magic to juice this baby up. Mr. Giles gave me the spell. He's really clever, in a Sean Connery as James Bond sort of way." Losing himself temporarily as he stared off dreamily in the distance, he was brought back by Faith's grumbling.

"What's it supposed to do anyhow?"

"We connect it to your mobile phone via a little chip. If you're fighting or running and you lose your phone, you'll still be able to maintain contact with us."

Faith pulled the tiny contraption from her ear and checked it out, poking it here and there as Andrew looked on disapprovingly.

"That's actually pretty cool," she confessed. "How do I dial or whatever?"

"I'm still working on that part," he said as he took the earpiece back from her and once again fitted it over her ear. "I'm thinking voice recognition though I'll have to toy with the software. I should have some time later before our guests arrive."

"When is that supposed to be again?" Faith asked, looking down at her watch.

It wasn't that she was dreading Willow and Kennedy's visit but she wasn't exactly sure what to expect. She'd been on good terms with Willow from the time they left LA together to drive back to Sunnydale, though she wasn't sure how the girl would react to the fact that she had her own getup and Scooby crew now while Buffy looked on from afar.

And even still, she didn't know what Willow expected to accomplish in terms of getting rid of The Last when they'd already done all that they could think of. A little bit of white magic wasn't any match for what he was throwing at them.

Frankly, as much as Faith appreciated the offer of help, she didn't want any more people involved. The few people in the fray, the lower the possibility of one of them getting hurt.

"Last I heard from Mr. Giles, Willow was going to meet with Sara and test some of her capabilities. I'm guessing they won't be here until after dinner which is just unfortunate for them because I'm making homemade veggie lasagna for dinner today."

Faith got lost in her thoughts for a few moments, wondering exactly what business Willow had with Sara. It had been a few months since Faith had saved the young girl and hadn't really heard all that much in regards to her since then. Granted she had a lot on her plate these days but she'd promised the girl's parents that she'd be well taken care of. Now she didn't even know much more about her whereabouts and well-being besides the fact that she was training with Giles and a few of the younger slayers while studying to try to focus her extra abilities.

Heck, maybe they needed to send her back Faith's way. An extra slayer could come in handy, especially one with psychic abilities.

"Maybe they should bring Sara with them. She might be able to tune her frequency to the Last's, get a sneaky-peek and see what he's got planned for us." Then Faith thought of something. "And why the hell are you makin veggie lasagna? Do I look like a vegetarian to you? Do it up the old fashioned way. I likes my meat."

"Judging by the amount of lesbian sex going on under this very roof over the past few days, I think you should amend your statement," Anya said as she shimmered into the room.

Faith turned her head and scowled at Anya, making Andrew stumble over as he tried to adjust the earpiece.

"You do realize that I was talkin' about food and not sex, right?" Faith grumbled as she looked forward again so Andrew would stop whining at her to stay still.

"Either way you're thinking about things you put in your mouth," Anya stated evenly.

"I'm not talkin' about anything, you are. And why are you here anyway?" Faith asked.

"Keep it in your pants, lesbian, I'm getting to that part." At Faith's scowl, she continued. "The Powers don't think it's wise for Sara to be here. She's training with Giles and becoming the best little slayer that she can be. Even though she's working with the coven to control her psychic abilities, she's still unstable. So while it may seem like a logical step to bring her here to help because hey – the good of the world versus the good of one girl - the answer is no. Apparently my opinion means nothing though because The Powers have already sent word to Giles to keep her in Los Angeles."

Faith thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "Kinda sucks but they're probably right."

"You're supposed to be on my side! There's should be anger; we're supposed to be mutually angry!"

"Who's supposed to be angry, my gorgeous ghost?" Xander asked as he walked into the room from the kitchen with a glass of juice in his hand. When met with silence and raised eyebrows, he tried again. "My wrathful wraith? Fantastic phantom? Spicy spookey?"

"Please quit while you're ahead," Anya said.

"Yes dear." Xander slipped down onto one of the wooden chairs, hoping to get caught up on the conversation. "So why are we angry? Do we get to protest?"

"The Powers won't let Sara come here to help and Faith doesn't seem to care because she's too busy thinking about penises!" Anya said excitedly.

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Faith groaned. "I'm not thinkin about penises! Far from it, actually." And that was the truth. Buffy was _all_ woman.

"I actually think it's kind of sweet," Andrew began, a dreamy smile on his face as he continued to fiddle with Faith's earpiece. "Once sworn enemies coming together to fight the good fight and finding true feelings along the way . . ."

"True feelings? Hours and hours of girly-humping doesn't exactly indicate any feelings besides lust," Anya said.

Xander casually grabbed a plate from the table and held it over his groin area. "Umm, maybe we could go back to talking about penises."

Faith just stared ahead at the wall, shaking her head slightly as she said through clenched teeth, "I'm in hell. This is hell, which means it's okay to smother them all with a pillow and I can't get sent anyplace worse."

They all began to talk over one another, Andrew continuing to talk about fate and romance while Anya yelled at Xander for picturing Buffy and Faith having sex and taunted him with the fact that she'd actually witnessed the act. Just when Faith thought she couldn't take another second sitting there, she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the display, smiling when she saw the number.

Without anyone noticing, she sat up from the chair, grabbed her car keys, and made her way out of the door.

********************

*****Suggested Music: Strip Tease by Danity Kane*****

It was almost an hour later when Faith walked into the club without much of a hassle, the bouncers at the door aware of the fact that she'd been there before and hadn't caused any problems. She made her way over to the bar to order herself a drink, figuring she'd earned it after what she'd just had to endure back at home.

And for the record, her ear was still stinging like a motherfucker!

Turning her back to the bar as she took a long pull from her bottle of beer, her lips cracked up in the tiniest of smiles when she finally saw Camryn through the crowd of people. The girl hadn't noticed her yet; she was too busy finishing up a lap dance for some random customer. Faith sat back and watched her work, admiring the way her toned body moved and swayed to the music. She'd never seen her dance before and now she was starting to wonder why she hadn't spent more time at the club.

Ah, right. _Buffy._

Shaking her head and looking away, she fought to keep her gaze from returning back to Camryn or any of the other dancers for too long. How fucked up was it that Buffy wasn't even her girl and she was feeling guilty for scoping out other chicks?

Bringing her half-empty beer bottle up to her lips, Faith chuckled as she thought about it all. There was no reason to feel guilty. She wasn't in a relationship, hence she was allowed to look and touch all she wanted.

Gazing back across the large open room at Camryn, Faith decided to allow herself to look seeing as that she knew her conscience would never ever let her touch. She didn't even wanna get into the reasons behind that.

She nearly jumped up and played hero when the guy who was getting a lap dance decided to get a bit grabby but a security guard was on him before he could even cop a real feel. She watched him get escorted out of the bar then looked back to find Camryn headed in her direction with an almost guilty smile on her face.

Faith eyed her up and down briefly, taking in every bit of goodness. Her long blond hair was styled straight and long, almost like Buffy's was back when she was in college . . .

Dammit! She wasn't there to think about Buffy!

"You're lucky your boy was escorted out by security. I wouldn't have been as friendly about it," Faith finally said.

"Feeling a bit protective, are we?" Camryn asked and smiled when Faith shrugged. "Job hazard. You get used to it after a while. Besides, security is normally on them before they get too grabby."

"Next time it happens you should knock the guy out. Not like you'll get in trouble for it," Faith said with a wink and finished off the rest of her beer.

"Exotic dancer turned kung-fu master. It has lifetime movie written all over it," Camryn said, smiling when Faith chuckled. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but what brings you all the way down here today?"

"The sitch at home's a bit crazy. Had to get away to unwind and relax a bit before we get more visitors later. Then I saw your text. Might not believe it but you're like, my only non-ghost non-annoying friend in Vegas."

Camryn laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is," Faith said with a grin. "Know you're busy and all but figured I'd drop in and say hey, have a drink, hide out."

Camryn laughed and grabbed Faith's hand, tugging her across the floor and towards the seating area.

"Oh no, you don't get to come here and 'hide out.' You need to relax and unwind and, hey, I can help you with that. Professional relax-maker here."

Faith's eyes widened as they bypassed several open chairs and headed toward a more private booth. Lap dances weren't technically breaking her no-touching rule since she wouldn't be allowed to touch but her non-technical conscience was still telling her it was wrong and probably a bad idea.

"I don't think anything you're about to do is gonna relax me in any way, shape, or form," Faith said, dragging her feet. "Pretty much the opposite really."

Camryn turned around and faced her, a knowing smile on her face.

"I'm not her, Faith, and I know that. You know that too. I'm not trying to stake a claim on Planet Faith."

"I know that," Faith said, still a bit uneasy that Camryn knew so much about her and Buffy just from looking at them.

"Then shut up and get in here," Camryn said, holding back the thin curtain so Faith could step into the small room.

"I don't have a lotta money," Faith said, pushing her hands into her pocket.

Camryn finally reached over and grabbed Faith's elbow, pulling her into the room.

"Keep your tip, this one's on me."

Faith practically stumbled into the room and flopped onto the plush armchair. As much as she was fixated on Buffy and their last few days together, there was no denying that she was excited seeing the beautiful girl in front of her dressed only in a matching bra and panty set with a see-through camisole over it. Camryn's smile was flirty and Faith knew she was in for one heck of a ride.

*****Suggested Music: Six Underground (Perfecto Mix) by the Sneaker Pimps*****

The song changed then, a slower and more sensual rhythm beginning to pump through the club speakers. Camryn began to slowly sway her hips, her eyes never leaving Faith's as she pulled the sheer camisole open and let it slip down her bronzed skin to her feet. Faith audibly gulped, torn between staying and enjoying herself or running for the door.

Camryn stepped forward and nudged Faith's legs further apart with her knees, offering her a flirty smile and a wink before she turned around and continued swaying to the beat.

There, now this was better, Faith thought. With the girl facing away from her and her long blonde hair cascading down her back, she could almost pass for Buffy. That was all she needed to do; she'd pretend it was Buffy until the dance was over and then she'd run home and take a very long, very cold shower.

That plan went to hell though when Camryn turned back around midway through the song and leaned in, placing her knees on the outside of Faith's thighs so she was effectively straddling her. Proving nearly as bendy as a slayer, she bent backwards and arched so that her hair was dangling behind her, her hips still rocking to the beat the entire time.

Faith nearly lost it then, her skin prickling and her muscles jumping, reacting to the dance though she was still trying to restrain herself. All she could think about though was _Buffy Buffy Buffy._

'_Talk me down, safe and sound, _

_too strung up to sleep  
Wear me out, Scream and shout,  
Swear my time's never cheap'_

Camryn began to straighten up then and was about to step up from her lap to continue the dance when their eyes met. She knew it wasn't her eyes Faith was seeing; they were Buffy's. And as she felt Faith's hands on the outsides of her thighs, she knew she had to set things straight before it all got out of hand; before she lost her resolve. Because she knew that no matter how much Faith was a temptation for her, the girl was meant for something greater; _someone_ greater.

"Hold up, cowgirl," she said, taking Faith's hands in her own and placing them back on the chair. "I think you're relaxed enough."

"Ya think?" Faith asked, laughing as the tension began to drain out of her. "I'm a fuckin puddle here. You're good, girl, I'll give ya that much."

They both chuckled, ready to sit up from the chair and rejoin the masses in the main area, when an electrical crackling sounded throughout the room. A burst of energy sent Camryn flying forward into Faith's arms and Faith naturally wrapped them around the girl to protect her. When the haze cleared, Faith focused to see two sets of eyes looking back at her.

Willow and Kennedy? Oh shit. Weren't they supposed to be coming later? Andrew was so getting his ass kicked!

But then eyes were widening. Mouths were opening. Syllables that weren't quite words were being uttered. And Faith knew that things were about to get mighty interesting.

"Faith!" Willow finally managed to utter between the random noises she was making. "You're not . . . I can't believe . . . you and . . . lap dance? Blonde stripper!"

"This?" Faith asked, indicating her current position with the hand that had been wrapped around Camryn's back. "A whole big mess of a misunderstanding. There are explanations. Good ones!"

But Willow's resolve face was on and she was in defense mode. That could only mean one thing: Buffy had to have told her something about what had happened between them. Suddenly Faith was longing to be back home with the annoying ghost and her ear getting zapped again and again.

"Home now. Explain later," Willow said.

And then the electrical crackling was back and Camryn covered her head with her arms, waiting for the storm to blow over or to see her life flash before her eyes. When the room was still again, she peeked through her arms to find that she was alone straddling the now empty chair.

As much as she knew just from reading Willow that the girl was no threat to her, she made a mental note to watch her step. No way did she want to incur the wrath of anyone that strong.

********************

The room was still spinning when Faith finally managed to make it to her feet again. She wiped the back of her hand over her mouth and grimaced when she looked down at the mess she'd made on the hardwood floors. Andrew sighed and went to fetch the mop, leaving Faith alone in the room with Willow and Kennedy.

Kennedy was just looking at her and smirking, happy that she wasn't the one in trouble for a change. But when Willow looked over at her girlfriend disapprovingly, she wiped the smirk off her face at put on a scowl that matched Willow's perfectly.

Talk about being whipped. Faith was just glad she wasn't the only one.

"Do I get a last meal or something?" she finally asked, trying to break the tension. "I mean, besides the fact that I just yakked up my lunch all over my nice new floor, you're looking at me like I'm about to go up against the firing squad. And why aren't you two yakking? Why the hell am I the only one yakking?"

"Because we're used to teleporting," Willow said easily but quickly changed her tone to match her upset outward appearance. "Besides, we're not the ones that deserve to be losing our lunch."

"Why do I deserve it? I wasn't doin' anything wrong," Faith said.

Willow just glared at her and even Kennedy raised an eyebrow at her this time. Indignant, Faith crossed her arms over her chest and waited. No way was she getting down to the nitty gritty with Willow without knowing how much she knew about what had gone on between her and Buffy.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Willow finally gave in, crossing her arms over her chest to mimic Faith.

"Maybe you weren't doing anything wrong but you weren't doing anything right either."

Faith let out a bitter chuckle, unable to stop herself. "Story of my life, Red."

Willow took a deep breath and sighed. This wasn't how she'd wanted things to go. She was there to help; it had been her idea to help when she'd heard about how well Faith was doing for herself there and about the latest Big Bad that she was dealing with. And heck, maybe she was to blame for how quickly things had soured. Maybe when they'd arrived at Faith's and Andrew said she'd stepped out, it would've been more appropriate to wait patiently for her than to teleport to her.

In fact, when it came right down to it, Willow was starting to have a case of the guilties. Sure she was being protective of her best friend but maybe it was time to let Buffy protect herself for a change.

"Listen Faith, I'm sorry," Willow began. "It wasn't right for us to barge in on you and it definitely wasn't right for me not to give you a chance to explain. Heck, you shouldn't have to explain anything to me. I'm here to help! It's just, well . . . with what Buffy told me, I guess I got a case of the wiggins when I saw you with the clothing-impaired lady."

"She's just a friend," Faith said, her walls sliding down just a little.

"There's nakedness but I've been assured it's not mutual nakedness," Anya said as she shimmered in.

"The ghost's right," Faith said. "At least partly. Camryn doesn't get completely naked. Besides, it's her job. I went to relax and she thought she could help."

Willow didn't seem fazed by Anya's entrance or by her ghostly presence. After all, she'd been completely filled in on the situation by both Buffy and Giles and even by Xander who had excitedly called her when he found out she'd be visiting.

Willow narrowed one eye at Faith for just a moment before remembering her newfound cool she was trying to keep.

"You should try chamomile tea the next time. It works better and you won't have to pay it for its services." She tried to hide the small smile that escaped her lips but Faith caught it and couldn't help but smile back.

"You shouldn't worry about the situation with the stripper," Anya said to Willow, interrupting the quiet moment. "Faith seems to be infatuated with only Buffy these days anyhow."

"Anya!" Faith practically growled but Anya continued on, ignoring her.

"Were you aware that she's recently gay?"

"For fuck's sake . . . I am not!" Faith defended. She immediately started planning ways to get Anya back in the basement with the lizards.

"But you had gay sex with Buffy," Anya said matter-of-factly.

Both Willow and Kennedy watched on in amusement as Faith struggled to keep her cool and as Anya managed to look smug in her knowledge of intimate goings-on.

"It was magic!"

"Yes, yes. I'm sure it was magical and the angels sang and the earth moved."

"Ahn, you're about five seconds away from seeing your afterlife flash before your eyes," Faith warned. She couldn't physically harm Anya but she could make her suffer. Andrew could be made to sing more show tunes. Bunnies could be adopted. Money could be burned. Oh yes, there were ways to affect her.

Seemingly able to read Faith's thoughts, Anya plastered on a huge fake smile and looked over at Willow.

"Well it's been just _great_ seeing you again, Willow, Kennedy. Please don't do anything overtly gay while I'm gone. Xander's laundry day isn't until tomorrow and he doesn't have any clean pants to spare," she said nonchalantly. "And now I must return to my duties. I'm very important. I'd be missed if anything were to ever happen to me." She stopped and glanced over at Faith quickly, laughed nervously, then shimmered out.

Faith just stood and watched the spot where Anya had been standing a moment before, looking completely flustered and twitchy.

"Well everyone's going gay these days," Willow said, trying to hide her smile. "I remember back in the day when it was less cool and much scarier to do." When Faith looked at her and narrowed her eyes, Willow held up her hands in mock surrender. There was something to be said about not teasing a charging bull and well . . . 'Red' just wasn't a colorful nickname.

********************

After the women made their way out of Faith's office, they settled into the living room so they could be a bit more comfortable when they got down to business. As much as it was nice to catch up, they hadn't come to Las Vegas for a social call. There was a Big Bad to beat and both Giles and Faith were hoping that Willow might be the key to turning the tides of the battle.

Besides, with any luck they'd beat The Last by morning so that Willow could use those tickets she'd secretly bought to see Donny & Marie tomorrow night.

No way was she leaving Vegas without having a little bit of fun.

Both she and Kennedy took a seat on the sofa and Faith sat just opposite them on a large armchair. Andrew was busy tidying up and offering drinks, not having had time to prepare for guests like he thought he was going to have.

"South America, huh?" Faith asked after she took a long swig from a can of Pepsi.

"Yeah-huh. I wasn't sure where we'd end up. Kennedy suggested South America . . ."

"Warm sun and topless beaches," Kennedy interrupted with a grin.

". . . and I thought maybe I could visit a coven that I'd heard a lot about from the coven in England," Willow continued, ignoring Kennedy's comment.

"Turns out they'd heard a lot about her too," Kennedy said. "Heard about the spell she used to activate the slayers, wanted her to come and study with them."

"Sounds like a good deal then," Faith said.

"Yeah, 'cept for me," Kennedy said just a tad bitterly. "Willow went to Hogwarts and I had to do the nude beaches on my own. Do you have any idea what kind of people go to nude beaches, Faith? Old men. Old pervy men with hairy shoulders and wrinkly bal…"

"I think she get's the picture, sweetie," Willow said, taking Kennedy's hand in hers before turning back to Faith. "Needless to say, it wasn't Kennedy's idea of a vacation in paradise but I _did_ get to study with the coven and it was . . . exhilarating."

"They give you some new mojo?" Faith asked

"And then some," Willow said, smiling. "Learning with the coven in England was great. They taught me so much about control and light and keeping the dark at bay. Learning with the new coven was something completely different though. Their magic deals with darker things. South America is filled with so many indigenous tribes and peoples that use older, darker magic."

"Kinda like our new friend that's terrorizing Las Vegas," Faith noted. "Anya's convinced he's using some kinda voodoo. She's even makin' some kinda voodoo doll cos she thinks she's gonna single-handedly take him down with a pencil to his head."

"That's pretty dangerous for a novice," Willow said, frowning. "The Powers That Be support that?"

"You try tellin' Anya she can't do something. It's like threading a needle with a turkey."

"I remember," Willow said, smiling fondly as she remembered times past.

"So do you think you really might be able to help?" Faith asked, moving to the edge of her seat and resting her knees on her elbows.

"I think there's a very good possibility that I can," Willow replied. "Most indigenous peoples believe in demons and spirits, that a person can be possessed by them and used as a puppet for nefarious purposes. If the demon or spirit possesses someone weak, it's too late to save them. That's why when the witch doctors or tribe mystics believe they've found a spirit or a demon lingering nearby, they try to invoke it so that they can mystically exorcise it before someone weak gets possessed."

"Sounds kinda risky."

"It is, to someone who's untrained. The coven taught me all about it though. I was even taken out to a few remote villages to help with some trickster demons."

Faith sat back then and sighed deeply. She had to ask a question and she knew that it might be a bit unfair but completely necessary.

"Listen Red, it's not that I doubt your abilities. You're pretty kickass when it comes to workin your juju. This demon though – The Last – he isn't some kinda trickster demon or any of the easy little guys that used to kick our ass on a daily basis. He's the top of the fuckin' demon food chain and he's _smart_."

"Not to toot my own horn here, but . . . toot!" Willow said, her voice going up an octave as she made the horn noise. "I've been trained by the best, Faith. All I need is the right spells and the right equipment and I'll have you one vanquished demon before you can say, well . . . toot!"

"I don't doubt you know what you're doing. The real question is . . . can you handle the darkness, Willow? You've touched it before, been taken over by it. And that was all just a drop in the bucket compared to what The Last has to offer."

Kennedy seemed to perk up then, her attention grabbed by the fact that this could actually be dangerous for Willow. As much as she wanted to be supportive, she wanted to make sure her girlfriend was safe first and foremost.

"Maybe she's right, baby," she said, turning on the couch to face Willow. "You're so good and full of light, but his kind of darkness is the kind that corrupts and blackens. Maybe we should study this all a bit more before you commit."

Willow smiled at Kennedy, not at all hurt by her concern. Quite oppositely, she was happy that her girlfriend cared enough to think of her safety.

"I know I can do this, Kenny. When I held the scythe, I was filled with the purest, lightest power. It made me strong, and even more so it made me confident. I can do this. I'm committed. I'm so committed I'm a committee."

Kennedy looked into her eyes for a few moments, searching for and finding what she needed before looking over to Faith.

"She can do it," she affirmed.

And as much as she still wasn't one hundred percent sure that magic was the way to counter The Last, Faith knew they still had to try something. His strength was growing with each passing day and they couldn't risk letting him run amok for much longer. Willow was their safest – and presumably only – bet.

"Right. Guess we're gonna need some kinda plan then," Faith said.

"I've actually discussed it pretty in-depth with Giles," Willow began. "Now, I can invoke The Last directly but the spell that I'll have to use to conjure him will leave me a bit tapped for energy. It wouldn't be wise to have me invoke him while I'm weak; I need to have a full battery so I can chant and will him out once I've invoked him. We both agreed that the wisest thing we can do is to conjure him and then contain him."

"Contain him?" Faith asked with one of her eyebrows raised. "You mean like, a trap?" The sound of the vacuum turning on in her office caught her attention and she looked over to see Andrew doing a bit of extremely untimely housekeeping.

"In essence, yes," Willow said, raising her voice over the sound of the vacuum. "If we can contain him, I can use a spell to weaken his powers while my magical battery recharges. Once I'm ready to go, I can just invoke him from the trap and mystically exorcise him."

"Not sure I'm followin' your thought train here, Red," Faith said confused. She knew brute strength well; magic was a whole new field of study that only ever managed to baffle and scare her just a little.

"Well, think of what we used to have to do with Oz when he had his monthly visitor," Willow said.

"Aunt Flo?" Kennedy asked, confused.

"More like Uncle Harry," Faith corrected with a grin, earning a giggle from Willow. "Sounds like a cool idea but no way is a metal cage gonna contain this fucker. Not sure if ya got the skinny on him but he can turn into smoke," Faith said.

"Giles mentioned that much. We're just going to have to find a suitable container to hold him. Something that can draw him into it while he's in smoke form."

"What?" Faith yelled, the vacuum much louder now as it struggled to suck up something hard from the floor.

"Something that can draw him in while he's in smoke form!" Willow repeated, raising her voice.

Annoyed, Faith stood up and walked over to the electrical outlet, yanking the cord out without warning. The vacuum slowly roared to a stop, the sound of something rattling without the spindle stopping after a few moments as well.

Andrew flicked the switch on and off a few times before turning around and seeing that Faith had pulled the plug.

"Too loud?" he asked, his face scrunched up apologetically.

"Ya think??" Faith replied.

"Well if I've told you once I've told you a hundred times: the Dyson is a powerful machine. It'll pick up all of the paperclips you and Xander like to flick childishly at one another but it will have a good old-fashioned grumble about it."

"Yeah, it really sucks," Faith teased.

She moved to go and sit back in the chair when an idea crossed her mind.

"You think that maybe the kid's onto something?" she asked as she flopped down on the chair, one of her legs thrown over the plushy arm. "He's right, that thing's a beast. Eats paperclips like they're made of air. Why couldn't we just mojo it up and use it to hold The Last?"

Willow looked over at the vacuum, chewing on her lower lip as she studied it intently.

"You know, it just might be crazy enough to work," she said as she thought it over. "A simple binding spell could keep him in there almost indefinitely if we could get him while in his smoke form."

"What are you gonna need to conjure him and do your mojo?" Faith asked, eager to get things started.

"Just a few basics, I think. Kennedy and I will go ingredient shopping and you just sit tight. We'll be back in a jiffy," Willow said as she and Kennedy stood up, holding hands.

Faith stood up too and walked over to the table, grabbing her jacket from the back of one of the chairs. She swung it on easily and grabbed her car keys that jangled loudly as she adjusted the collar of her jacket.

"If you guys get back before me, just get everything set up. Don't start 'til I get back." She made her way to the door and opened it up, stopping only when she heard Willow call out to her.

"What are you doing?"

She paused and looked down at her feet before looking back over her shoulder at Willow and replying, "Making sure we have a backup plan."

********************

Faith stood before the old church and looked at it warily. A sense of dread filled her and compelled her to turn and run away but she knew she couldn't do that. All she had to do was sneak in, fill up a few empty water bottles with some holy water, and hightail it out of there before anyone noticed she'd been there in the first place. It had been years since she'd been in a church, not counting the time she was in Sunnydale during the whole body-swap deal. She'd entered there in Buffy's body though which was the only real reason she could think of why the walls hadn't come tumbling down around her when she'd walked in. She was just hoping that maybe a little bit of Buffy remained in her now that would fool God into letting her enter in peace.

Taking the last few steps up to the building, Faith smirked and chuckled at herself. She definitely wouldn't mind having a little bit of Buffy in her again. Probably wasn't a good time to be thinking about girl-on-girl fun though seeing as that she was now making her way into the front doors.

The familiar musty smell of the church with its oiled pews and old hymnals assailed her senses as she walked in, sending her back to the days of her youth when Sunday mass was mandatory and she still had people that cared enough to force her to go. When she closed her eyes she could see her tattered old Sunday dress and the white strappy shoes two sizes too big for her feet that her grandmother used to make her wear. She could almost make out the scrapes and bruises on her knees and legs from playing too hard on the playground that ruined the image of the perfect little Catholic girl.

This church wasn't as old as any of the ones she'd been to back in Boston. She was pretty sure that churches were never a big concern in Las Vegas, contractors opting instead to build casinos and other businesses that would make them money rather than tell them that they were amoral and going to hell. No, this building was only a couple of decades old but it still held the same stale and hollow feeling that the old churches of Boston did.

Out of sheer habit she dipped her fingers into the small brass bowl of holy water just inside the door and went to touch her forehead before she stopped herself, wondering what the hell she was doing.

Rubbing her fingertips dry on the back of her jeans she continued to walk further into the church, relieved to find that it was completely empty. The dim yellow lights were on and candles in red glass cups flickered along the left side of the church. For a moment she swore she could see her grandmother kneeling before them and lighting a memoriam votive with the long sticks she liked to pretend were drumsticks when she was a kid. She shook her head to regain her composure and continued to walk toward the front of the church towards the baptismal area.

If there was one thing she remembered, it was that the baptismal stand always held fresh holy water. She was almost home free now. Tipping back the metal lid, all she had to do was fill up the water bottles and get the hell outta . . .

"May I help you?" Came a voice from off to the side.

Faith spun around to see who the voice belonged to, spilling water all around her as she turned. Standing just inside the doorway to the sacristy was a middle-aged man who barely looked like a priest except for the telltale while collar tab peeking out through his black clerics. When did priests get so young and handsome?

Her heart was in her throat and she couldn't speak. Suddenly she was thirteen years old again and getting caught by Father Finnegan stealing church wine from the sacristy.

"May I help you?" he asked again, stepping calmly through the doorway and closer to her.

"Umm, I was just, uhh . . ."

"Stealing holy water?" he finished for her, a gentle smile on his face.

"What? No, I was, uhh . . ." Faith began to babble again, her eyes searching an easy escape route.

"That water hasn't been blessed yet, dear," he explained, finally stopping his approach just a few feet away from her. "If you'd like I can get some for you. It's no trouble at all."

Faith still looked like she was about to bolt at any second but she also looked confused now. She looked him up and down a couple of times before she found her voice again.

"You mean you're not gonna call the cops?"

The priest laughed, clasping his hands together in front of him. "Of course not, why would I go and do such a thing? If it's holy water you seek, we have plenty. If it's money you seek, the collection plates are empty."

"Uhh, just the water is fine," Faith said, relaxing just a bit but keeping her guard up.

"Of course." The priest turned around and began to walk back toward the sacristy and stopped only when he noticed Faith wasn't following.

After a moment she shook her head again and began to follow, stopping briefly to bow a little and make the sign of the cross before stepping up onto the altar area. She scoffed at herself, wondering how exactly she could remember to do that but couldn't remember that the baptismal water wasn't always blessed until the ceremony.

"So you're Catholic then," the priest said rather than asked, smiling at Faith's horrified look when she realized he'd see her make the sign of the cross.

"Was," she corrected, digging her hands deep into her pockets to keep them from betraying her again. "Been a long time."

"Time often leads us back to our roots," he said as he stepped into the sacristy and opened up a cupboard. He reached in and pulled out a few plastic bottles of pre-bottled holy water and placed them on the countertop.

"Ain't got roots anymore," Faith said evasively. "Left all of that behind."

The priest chuckled and leaned back against the countertop, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Roots run deeper than you think." He paused for a moment and then smiled, shaking his head lightly. "Forgive me, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Father Shannon. Tell me; what's your name?"

Faith took a deep breath and held it in, wondering why exactly she wasn't grabbing the water and running out with it. She sighed after a few moments and leaned back against the doorway, crossing her arms over her chest as well.

"Faith."

Father Shannon smiled at that. "Indeed it is. Are you looking to reconnect with the church?"

Faith couldn't help but laugh then, a good and hearty belly chuckle. When she finally managed to calm down, she looked up at Father Shannon with apologetic eyes.

"I could tell you 'yes' but I'm pretty sure I can't lie to you, padre. If the big guy upstairs wouldn't strike me down my Grams would."

"So tell me the truth then," he said evenly. There was nothing threatening about him or his manner. Faith was pretty sure that given the city he was living in, he was just looking for someone to help. To connect with.

"I don't think I can do that. There are some things you wouldn't understand and that I'd have no idea how to even begin to explain."

"Try," he asked again.

And again, Faith wondered why the hell she was still standing there. Deciding that the truth was the only way she'd get out of there – probably carted away in some kind of looney bin truck – the truth he was going to get.

"Okay, fine. Straight up?" At his nod, she continued. "There's a crazy evil out there in the city right now, and I'm not talkin' indecency and depravity and immorality and whatever else the bible-beaters go on about. I'm talkin' an ancient evil that's infecting people and using them to kill each other off so that he can destroy the world and inherit its power. I've got a friend that thinks she can destroy the evil and if she can't?" She nodded toward the bottles of holy water. "Those are my insurance policy."

Father Shannon looked at her blankly for several long moments, his body language giving away nothing as to what he was thinking. Faith was ready to be yelled at, laughed at, kicked out, _something_, but it never came. Instead Father Shannon calmly opened the cupboards again and pulled out a few more bottles of holy water, adding them to the ones already placed on the countertop.

"I guess a few more of these couldn't hurt then, could they?"

Faith looked at him in wonder. "You mean you're not gonna call the looney bin and have me taken away?"

"No, no," he said. "If what you say is true, I'd best not stand in your way. The world isn't always colored in shades of gray, Faith. There is black and white, good and evil. We can't expect to understand it all but we can try to persevere. Sometimes that's all we can do."

"Yeah," Faith said after a moment. "So, thanks for, uhh, yunno . . . not freakin' and throwin' me out."

Father Shannon laughed and gathered up the bottles. He slowly made his way toward Faith, finally meeting her eyes when he stood just before her.

"You're quite welcome. And thank _you_ for coming here for help, even if it was only to get holy water. A city like this, sometimes people don't want help. It's good to feel needed, even if only for a short while."

Faith smiled at him and took the proffered bottles, shoving them into her pockets where she could. She didn't know what else to say; didn't know what was appropriate after the conversation they'd just had. She looked him in the eyes one more time before turning around and making her way down the aisle, stopped only when she heard Father Shannon call out to her again.

"Faith?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning around to look back at him.

"Be careful. If . . . if there's anything else you need . . ."

"Got it, padre," she said with a typical Faith grin, then turned around and left the church like she'd never been there in the first place.

********************

Faith arrived back at her place to find Willow and Kennedy already there, setting up everything that they'd need for the spell. Andrew was off in the corner pouting, upset that they were going to use his Dyson for such non-cleaning related purposes. The sun was already getting lower in the sky and dusk would be upon them shortly.

It seemed like an ominously perfect time to get things started.

"You guys get everything you need?" she asked as she took off her jacket and hung it over the back of the chair.

Willow and Kennedy looked up as they fiddled with the vacuum cleaner, trying to make sure that it was physically capable of containing The Last. They sealed the edges of the debris canister with black electrical tape so that the only thing left to do was enchant it with magic.

"Yup, we're just about ready to go. Do you have what you needed to get?" Willow asked as she stood up, leaving Kennedy to give the vacuum a last once-over.

Faith reached into her pockets and produced several bottles of holy water and lined them up on the table. Seeing them there, Andrew made his way into the kitchen and returned with a glass bowl full of ague root and tulsi, the items they'd needed when they had all become infected the last time. He tossed a match into the bowl and let the flame consume the herbs, white smoke beginning to swell from the bowl.

"Now I do," Faith answered. "Once you conjure The Last and get him into the container, how long can we keep him in there and how long do you need to recharge?"

"Conjuring him will be a piece of cake. With the enchantments I'm placing on the container we should be able to keep him in there for hours, days; weeks even. I'll just need a few hours to get back to full strength."

"Wills will do a little spell, then I'll work a little of my own mojo on her, and when she wakes up she'll be ready to go," Kennedy said with a grin, earning a smack on the arm from Willow as she approached her.

"Vague sexual reference not so vague, actually," Faith said, wincing.

"There were sexual references and I missed them? Anya's gotten to you, hasn't she?" Xander asked as he breezed into the room, then looked over at Faith and greeted her with a warm smile. "This is gonna be it, Faith. I feel it in my bones. The bad guy's going down."

"From what I hear Kennedy will be too," Faith said, laughing when Xander gave her a thankful smile for keeping him involved in the dirty references despite Anya's warnings. "Hope you're right though, Xan. Let's just hope your girl Red hasn't gotten rusty on her extended holiday," she teased, earning an instant scoff from Willow.

"Oh please," Willow said, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. She held out both arms and instantly rays of white light shot out, surrounding and filling the vacuum container. The container shone brilliantly for a few moments, then returned back to its normal appearance. Taking one last look over her shoulder at her friends and offering them a playful wink, she closed her eyes and began chanting in Latin.

White light began to surround her, radiating from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. Everyone watched on in awe, shielding their eyes from the sheer brilliance of the light. When the glowing and the chanting stopped, they all adjusted their senses to find another presence in the room: The Last.

He looked disoriented at first, then angry as he took in his surroundings. His eyes glowed red as he looked at Faith and snarled, then at Willow who was grinning maniacally.

"A witch?" he asked incredulously. "A witch?! You may as well try guns, sweetie. Ain't no magic can hurt . . ."

"Mutatio!" Willow yelled, still grinning as The Last's eyes widened just before he exploded into a plume of black smoke. Kennedy took that as her cue and turned on the vacuum, aiming the hose into the center of the smoke.

Sure enough, the smoke began to fill the canister, the engine whirring loudly until every last trace of smoke was gone from the room. Faith stood by with a bottle of holy water in each hand, ready to do _something, anything_ if things went awry. They didn't though; the silence that followed the motor coming to stop was replaced with a loud cheer as Xander and Andrew high-fived each other in the background. Willow smiled proudly and Kennedy ran to her and lifted her up, swinging her around in a circle as they hugged.

"That's it?" Faith asked. It couldn't have been that easy, could it have been? Was The Last really wasting away in that little container, just waiting to be exorcised and vanquished forever?

"That's it!" Willow said excitedly as Kennedy finally set her down. Her legs began to wobble from the energy drain the spell had put on her so Kennedy lifted her up again, holding her tightly. "I just need a few hours. Just a few hours and I can finish this off."

Her voice was tired and airy and both Kennedy and Faith knew that she needed a safe place to recharge.

"Upstairs, first door on the left or right, take your pick," Faith said.

Kennedy nodded at Faith and began to climb the stairs with Willow in her arms, off to let the girl get some rest. Faith watched as they disappeared around the corner, then turned her attention back to the canister and the black smoke swirling around within it.

"You really think it's all just gonna be that easy, Xan?"

"I think we shouldn't doubt Willow. She's saved us more times than I can count."

"Yeah," she began, her voice low and nervous, "but tomorrow's a whole different story. Even if this hunk of junk can hold him, do we really think it's gonna go over just as easily? Don't get me wrong, Red's pretty kickass but still . . . something just doesn't feel . . ."

"Don't worry, Faith," Xander interrupted, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It'll be easy like Sunday morning."

Without much more ado, Xander went to find where Andrew had scampered off to. With hours to wait until Willow was all charged up and ready to complete the invocation, he had lots of time to kill and was intent on finding ways to let Las Vegas corrupt Andrew.

Faith watched as he walked off and then once again turned her attention back to the canister. She wanted to trust Xander; wanted to trust Willow and her ability to get this done once and for all. But she couldn't fool herself into thinking it could all be this easy. Not after all they'd seen, all they'd lost.

Instead of going up to her room to get some rest, she sat down on the couch and kicked her feet up on the coffee table, preparing to keep a vigilant watch over the vacuum cleaner prison.

********************

It was well after midnight and the house was completely dark save for a light on in the kitchen that barely illuminated the lower floor. Andrew and Xander had been out and were back already, Andrew snoring away in his own room while Xander crashed in the last guest room. Faith had fallen asleep on the couch and woke only when she had the urgent need to use the bathroom. With the house silent and still, it was hard to believe that no one heard the sound of plastic cracking within the living room.

The container on the vacuum was still fully sealed but the black smoke within it was swirling around, expanding and filling the small space. Another side of it cracked as well, the long jagged crack running from top to bottom but not completely through. It was only a matter of time though as the black smoke continued to expand.

Upstairs Willow's eyes flew open, a look of panic across her face. She sat up and pulled the blankets off, just barely rousing a still sleeping Kennedy.

"Baby?" Kennedy mumbled, feeling only warm sheets where Willow had been lying a moment before.

"He's getting out!" Willow yelled, already on her way out of the room before Kennedy could sit up.

She ran down the stairs just in time to see the container crack and splinter through, letting a steady trail of black smoke escape. It began to swirl around her, completely ignoring Kennedy who was now standing at the bottom of the stairs yelling at Willow to run.

It was too late, though. Willow couldn't run. She couldn't even invoke The Last; she wasn't yet prepared. He was going to possess her, he was going to use her powers, and he was going to kill her. She did the only thing she could think of: she bound her own powers.

"Postulo me!"

A swirl of white began to surround her as the black smoke entered her every pore, completely filling her up with the darkness that no mortal was strong enough to fight.

Faith came running out of the bathroom, watching as the last of the black smoke entered Willow and the swirling white light surrounded her like chains. They crossed over her chest and torso, keeping her arms bound close to her sides so that only her head could move.

Kennedy ran over to Faith and watched in horror as the commotion finally stopped to reveal Willow with a smirk on her face and blood-red eyes. The Last was inside of her; he was fully possessing her and the only thing keeping him rooted right now was the white-magic binding spell.

"Willow!" Kennedy yelled. She lunged forward and tried to touch her but a plume of black smoke shot out from Willow's hand and entered her nose and mouth, temporarily stunning the girl.

"Fuck!" Faith yelled and pulled Kennedy back to the couch.

She laid the girl down and ran across the room, yelling for Andrew and Xander as she grabbed one of the bottles of holy water. When she turned around she saw more black plumes of smoke leaving Willow's fingertips and headed straight for her. She opened the nozzle on the bottle and sprayed the water at the smoke, stopping it dead in its tracks before it disintegrated altogether.

"What happened?" Xander asked as he came running down the stairs tugging his shirt on over his head.

"He got out," Faith explained. "I think he's inside Willow."

"She bound her powers," Xander said, pointing to the white-energy chains. "If he's in there he isn't going to be able to use her powers."

"Kennedy's infected." She handed Xander a bottle of holy water and continued, "You see black smoke, squirt the hell out of it. We need to fix Kennedy so she can help us."

"Help us do what?" Xander asked, unable to move his gaze from his best friend who was staring back at him with blood-red eyes.

"Damned if I know yet."

Faith ran over to Kennedy's side and checked that she was okay before spraying her with a few sprinkles of the water.

"Vindico nos ex malum!" she yelled, repeating the words Dawn had said to save them. Instantly black smoke poured out of Kennedy and dissipated in the air, leaving the girl gasping for a breath.

"It got me?" Kennedy asked breathlessly.

"Yup. Now get up and help us figure out what the hell to do."

Kennedy stood up on shaky legs with Faith's help and suddenly all eyes were back on Willow's rigid form.

"You should've listened to me, babies," The Last said, his deep southern accent sounding almost comical coming out of Willow's mouth. "No magic can harm me, no magic can hold me."

"I dunno, seems like you're being held pretty good, asshole," Faith spat back.

"This white magic?" he asked, looking down at the white binding chains. "It's for sissies."

Willow's head was suddenly thrown back and black smoke started to pour from her mouth and eyes. Despite The Last's possession of her body, a very distinctive scream in Willow's actual voice sounded throughout the room.

"Baby!" Kennedy yelled and moved to lunge forward again but Xander held her back with a strong hand on her arm. She struggled to get free though and Faith knew she had to do something, anything.

With the bottle of holy water in her hand, she stepped in front of Kennedy and squeezed it hard, covering Willow's body in a fresh mist of the liquid. The Last howled in pain and tried to thrash about but only his head could move. In the few seconds where he struggled, Willow's voice fought through again.

"Get . . . back!" Willow cried, her voice strangled as The Last thrashed around inside of her.

"Baby, can you exorcise him?" Kennedy asked, still trying to push past Faith and Xander.

"Too….strong," Willow choked out, but then her voice was gone and The Last's was back again. "She can't hold me back for long, kiddies."

Ever the impatient one, Faith squirted the remaining contents of the bottle at Willow's body, once again making The Last howl in pain.

"Hang on Willow, I'm gonna get some help. Just keep fighting him," she said. She made her way over to the table and grabbed two water bottles, handing one to both Kennedy and Xander. "He starts acting up, douse him."

Andrew came walking down the stairs then, his sleepy eyes suddenly widening as he saw what was going on.

"Andy, get Giles on the phone, tell him Willow's possessed. See if he can contact the coven, anyone that can help."

"What about you?" Xander asked as Faith fumbled for her cell phone on the table and picked it up, quickly punching in a few numbers.

"I have an idea," she said, listening intently to the phone. When the other line picked up, she continued, "Camryn? It's Faith. I need a favor."

********************

"How the heck do I get myself into these situations?" Camryn asked herself as she walked around the small building looking for an unlocked door or window. She'd already tried the buzzer and no one had answered, but seriously – where the heck would a priest be at 1:00am if not in bed?

Probably at some casino spending the day's collections.

She'd been at work when Faith had called, working a double-shift since a few of the dancers had gotten the same stomach bug the day before. Her boss wasn't exactly happy with her when she'd told him she was leaving but if Faith was desperate enough to call in a favor after their awkward encounter earlier, it had to be a big deal.

Walking around the rectory a second time, she finally decided to peek into one of the lower windows to see if she could find Father Shannon. She approached the window and stood on her tippy-toes, using her fingertips on the ledge to boost her up those few extra inches to see inside. Just as she thought she saw a light on inside, one of her heels began to sink into the dirt, causing her to stumble backwards.

"Stupid window. Stupid shoe. Stupid dirt!" she grumbled quietly. Bending down to retrieve her shoe from the dirt, she stood up quickly when she heard someone clear his throat behind her.

"May I help you?"

"I, uhh . . . Father Shannon?" she asked, trying to pull her small jacket closed around her skimpy underclothing.

"Yes. I don't suppose you're here for mass."

"No, no," she laughed nervously. "I . . . my name is Camryn and I need your help. Faith sent me. I'm not sure what's going on but she said that it has to do with what she spoke with you about earlier."

Father Shannon's smile faltered then as he realized the urgency of the situation. He quickly locked the rectory door and headed toward the church with Camryn hot on his heels.

"Umm, does this mean you'll help?" she asked as she limped along, one shoe in her hand and the other on her foot.

"I don't believe I have any other choice. But first we'll need supplies."

********************

"How much do you have left?" Faith asked Xander who was busy taking a turn spraying Willow with the holy water.

The bottle made a comical farting noise as the last of its contents spurted out, temporarily fighting back The Last's infections smoke.

"This well is officially dry."

"Kennedy?"

"Got enough for one more time. How about you?"

"One, two tops. Andy? What's Giles gotta say?"

"He's speaking with the coven but they can't get a read on Willow because of her binding spell. He says to buy them some more time."

"They've got less than five minutes. Anya!" she shouted and after a moment, Anya shimmered in looking as panicked as ever. "What the hell is going on up there? We need some fucking help and we need it _now_."

"They're well aware of the situation. It's probably not good news that they're just as panicked as you are. They said help is coming though."

The Last stopped howling in pain and once again began to send out plumes of black smoke which didn't make it very far. Kennedy sprayed the last of her water out, cringing as she heard Willow's voice again crying out in pain and fear.

"Oh god, I can't take this anymore," Kennedy said. Ignoring Faith's command to stop she walked over to Willow's side and took her hand into her own, holding it tightly. "I'm right here, baby. I'm right at your side and I'm not going anywhere."

With no more water at his disposal, Xander tossed the empty bottle aside and walked over to Willow's side, taking her other hand in his own as well.

"We're all right here, Wills," he said sadly, caressing her hand gently.

Faith gripped onto the bottle in her hand tightly, her jaw clenched tightly as tears of anger started to fill her eyes. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. Willow was so confident and Xander had assured her that it would be as easy. How did everything always get so fucked up? Were the Powers secretly against her?

Feeling the despair finally start to sink in, Faith nearly jumped out of her skin as the front door was thrown open and both Camryn and Father Shannon came running into the room.

"Cam!" Faith said, unable to hide the relief in her voice.

"Who ordered the priest?" Camryn said, trying to smile despite the sight in front of her. She'd seen the same red-haired girl earlier that afternoon but she was pretty sure the glowy red eyes and black smoke was something new and not a schnazzy special effect.

Following Camryn's gaze, Faith squeezed the bottle of water, once again dousing Willow and fighting back The Last's powers.

"Just in time," she said, shaking the nearly empty bottle. "Padre, thanks for coming."

"I wish I could say it was a pleasure," Father Shannon said, his eyes never leaving Willow's form. "I'll do what I can but this is something very advanced; something that only venerated and experienced holy men attempt."

"We're down to our last shot. Without you we have nothing," Faith said and Father Shannon nodded. "Anya, get out of here."

And being a ghost herself, Anya was happy to get out of dodge _post haste._ She wasn't sure how she was religiously classified and didn't want any kind of churchy mojo to make her go kablooey. As soon as she was gone, Father Shannon began his prayer.

"In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Most glorious Prince of the heavenly armies, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places."

"Ugh, Catholics," The Last spat out and rolled his eyes, struggling even more within his magical barrier. "You'll be the next I'll obliterate."

Undeterred, Father Shannon continued, "In the Name of Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, strengthened by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Blessed Michael the Archangel, of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints. And powerful in the holy authority of our ministry, we confidently undertake to repulse the attacks and deceits of the devil."

He stepped forward then with a small brass container in his hands, trying his best to keep from shaking. The Last snarled at him as he approached and Faith used the last of her holy water to keep him at bay. While he was busy howling in pain, Father Shannon dipped his thumb into the brass container and traced a cross on Willow's forehead and again on her chest.

"Child, do you reject Satan and all his works and empty promises?"

"Yes!" Willow gasped out.

Father Shannon nodded his head and reached for the small book he had tucked away in his inner pocket. He quickly opened it to the dog-eared page and took a deep breath before looking into Willow's blood-red eyes.

"Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac, et virtúte tua age causam meam," he began and at once The Last started to thrash around violently.

The white energy chain-like restraints began to flicker and dim as The Last struggled. Both Kennedy and Xander held tight to Willow's hands, not willing to leave her side for a single second. Not if this was the end; not if this could be their end.

Father Shannon continued to speak in Latin, each word causing The Last to react more and more violently. When black smoke started to escape him again, Faith grabbed the holy water from Father Shannon's pocket and doused Willow thoroughly, hoping to keep everyone safe until the ritual was finished.

If they could even finish it.

"I beseech thee through Jesus Christ our Lord, leave this girl!" Father Shannon yelled.

"Come on, baby, fight," Kennedy pleaded, tears rolling down her face as Willow's voice came through once again to scream in agony.

"I beseech thee through Jesus Christ our Lord, leave this girl!" Father Shannon yelled again, only to be sent stumbling backwards a few feet by a blast of energy.

"Come on, Wills," Xander encouraged. "We love you."

"Please, Willow," Kennedy implored, her voice wavering. "I love you so much. Please, baby, fight."

"I beseech thee through Jesus Christ our Lord, leave this girl!" Father Shannon yelled one last time and was sent flying through the air, stopping only when he hit the wall and slid down to lay unconscious on the floor.

Both Camryn and Faith ran to him while Andrew was already busy checking him over. They were all so wrapped up in making sure that he was okay that they didn't see the last of the magical restraints dissolve away under The Last's struggling.

He was freed. He could do what he wanted.

He couldn't seem to stop struggling though, Willow's entire body jerking and shuddering with his efforts. A loud roar escaped The Last before he exploded into a plume of black smoke from within Willow, instantly dissolving as it hit the air. Willow began to collapse to the ground but both Kennedy and Xander kept her upright, Kennedy pulling her into her arms and hugging her tightly.

"Baby!" Kennedy yelled, running her hand over Willow's back to make sure she was okay.

"Willow!" Xander yelled, getting a tired groan in reply as Willow passed out with her head on Kennedy's shoulder.

"What just happened?" Camryn asked Faith who, after realizing Father Shannon was okay, slumped down on the floor next to him with Camryn mimicking her on his other side.

"I think we vanquished The Last," Faith said. "Or actually, he did," she nodded toward Father Shannon.

"How can you be sure he's gone?"

"Can you read Willow? See if he's in her still? Cos if he's not, he dissolved into nothing. He's gotta be gone."

Camryn looked over at Willow and studied her, finding it almost difficult to read her from the overwhelming feelings of joy and elation rolling off of Kennedy and Xander in waves.

"There's only good in her now," she finally said, earning a sigh of relief from Faith who closed her eyes and rested her head back against the wall.

"Easy as Sunday morning, right?"

********************

It took nearly a full day of rest for Willow to be able to get back on her feet again, though she stayed hidden away in the guest room the whole time. Xander and Kennedy were with her constantly, making sure she was okay and properly looked after. Physically she was fine; the possession left her weakened but not harmed. But emotionally and psychologically? She was hurting.

She'd been so confident, so sure of herself and her powers. She'd studied hard and done everything she was taught but she still wasn't strong enough, good enough. Granted she'd never really had the proper chance to invoke The Last on her own terms, it was still a huge blow to her ego and she felt horrible that she hadn't been able to help her friends. Even worse that she'd put them in harms way.

When all was said and done, it came down to a man with an invisible God and a musty old book that saved the day.

A small knock on the door brought Willow to her senses. Kennedy had already taken their bags downstairs and was waiting with Xander in the living room. She was fairly certain when she heard the sounds of Mortal Kombat coming from downstairs that it could only be one person at her door.

"Come on in, Faith," she called out from her seat on the edge of the bed.

The door opened slowly and Faith peeked her head in, smiling softly when Willow waved her in.

"You should be more careful. I coulda been Andrew. Next thing ya know he'd be braiding your hair and telling you about his first crush." She made her way over to the bed and sat next to Willow, her hands resting on her knees.

"Next time I'll be more cautious," Willow replied, trying to smile through her own inner turmoil.

"Gotta stop beatin' yourself up, Red," Faith said after a few moments, realizing exactly what she was going through.

"I can't help it," Willow said glumly. "That whole fiasco was my fault."

"Was a total accident though. You had no idea he'd get outta there after all the magic you put on it. Besides, I'm the one who fell asleep when I was supposed to be watching it. It was just a series of really shitty events."

"I should have known better. My plan was risky; I put everyone here at risk."

"Maybe, but you didn't exactly come up with the plan on your own, Willow. I was the genius that suggested the vacuum cleaner, remember? We all got into this together."

"I just feel like I let everyone down," Willow said sadly, unable to meet Faith's eyes as she stared into her own lap.

A brief silence fell between them before Faith asked, "How do you think I feel? I've been here for months now. It took us this long to finally beat the baddie and we lost Robin in the process. Do you have any idea . . ." she paused and steeled herself, choosing her words carefully, ". . . this all woulda been done and over with ages ago if B had been in charge here."

Willow finally looked up at her with eyes still swollen from crying and tried to interrupt but Faith held up her hand and stopped her.

"B's something I could never even hope to be. I'm here doing what I can with what I've got and I'll still never be good enough."

Willow did something that surprised even herself then. She reached over and took Faith's hand in her own and squeezed it tightly, elated that Faith hadn't pushed her off the bed or yanked her arm off.

"The fact that you're here and trying? I think that speaks volumes. And maybe it didn't happen the way we'd planned it but The Last is toast. As for Buffy, well," she stopped and smiled, "I think she thinks more of you than you do of yourself. Just remember that."

Giving her hand one last squeeze, she got up from the bed and made her way to the door, stopping in the doorway to look back at Faith one last time.

"Tell Father Shannon thanks again for me?"

"Sure thing, Red," Faith said with a smile. "The little Jewish witch that was saved by the Catholic priest. How do ya feel?" she teased.

Willow giggled and said, "Like I should be praying the rosary while spinning the dradle and calling the corners."

"You sure you guys can't stay for a while? Andy's been itchin' to take us to the Tournament of Kings and I know how much Kennedy likes eating with her hands."

"You're terrible, Faith," Willow laughed. "Thanks for the offer and all but I think I'd really just like to get back and relax. I've had enough excitement for a while." She paused for a moment, a thoughtful look upon her face. "You should call Buffy and tell her about our adventures. I'm sure she'd like to hear your take on it all."

Offering Faith one last knowing smile, she left the room and walked down the hall, ready for Kennedy to take her home.

Faith got up and was about to follow her downstairs but instead made a detour to her bedroom and closed the door before flopping onto the bed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, looking at it for a few minutes before getting up the nerve to dial the familiar number. Holding the phone to her ear, she held her breath as she listened to the other line, waiting for an answer.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, B," she said, a smile instantly forming on her face.

"_Hey superhero," _Buffy said easily._ "I hear you finally got the bad guy."_

"Guess good news travels fast, huh."

"_Almost as fast as bad news. So what are you gonna do now?"_

"Was thinking about goin' to Disneyland," Faith joked. "Life as normal, I guess."

"_How's Willow holding up?"_

"She's a tough girl, she'll be five by five in no time. Shoulda seen her fighting though, she gave that bastard a real run for his money," Faith said with a chuckle.

"_That's my Wills_,_" _Buffy said proudly. _"Kennedy said that you really kept your head when all hell was breaking loose."_

"I tried," Faith said. "Trust me, running the hell outta the door was looking like a better and better option but then I thought, W.W.B.D?"

"…_splainy?"_

"What Would Buffy Do," Faith clarified, trying to hold in her laughter.

"_And what exactly was the result of that?"_

"Called him an asshole, squirted him with some holy water. Totally messed up his hair."

And then Buffy was scoffing and they were both laughing, enjoying the ease with which they could talk to each other now.

"_I guess you know me better than I think you do," _Buffy said. She let the sentence hang there, waiting for some kind of response from Faith.

"Maybe," Faith said quietly. It got her thinking. Maybe she did know Buffy pretty well. She knew that despite Buffy's heartfelt congratulations, she was probably a bit upset that she hadn't been there to help. She also knew that when Willow and Kennedy got back and filled her in on everything that had happened, Buffy would likely find out about how they'd found her in the strip club with Camryn half-dressed and straddling her lap.

And if she knew Buffy at all, she knew that she wouldn't like to hear that from her friends. It was something she probably had to tell her herself.

"Hey, B . . . listen, before you hear it from anyone else, I just wanna set the record straight so that you don't go back to hating me."

"_I don't think I could hate you anymore, Faith,"_ Buffy said sincerely.

"Wait to hear the rest before you say that," Faith said, cringing a little bit. "When Red and Ken got here, I wasn't home so they came to find me. Kinda caught me in a compromising position that wasn't actually as compromising as it looked."

"_Oh?"_

"Yeah. It was kinda crazy around here so I went out to blow off some steam. Ended up at the club and, uhh . . . well, Camryn gave me a lapdance but it didn't mean anything, B."

There was a short silence from the other end before Buffy cleared her throat.

"_You don't have to tell me that, Faith. That's . . . your business," _she said, trying to sound as even as possible even though she was a bit shocked to hear it.

"Yeah, it is my business. But I don't want you to go thinking that I ran off to her after everything that . . . _happened_ between us."

Vague, party of two?

"_It's okay, Faith. I'm not your mother or your angry wife waiting at home for you. What happened between us was . . ."_

"Wait, don't finish that, Buffy. I just . . . I just needed you to know that I'm not into Camryn. She's a friend, that's all, and she thought she was doing me a favor."

"…_some favor,"_ Buffy said with a short chuckle.

"Yeah. Doesn't matter though. Couldn't stop thinking about someone else anyhow," Faith said teasingly, unable to hide the smirk that crept up on her lips.

"_Anyone I know?" _Buffy asked playfully.

Faith didn't get to answer right away though because her phone beeped, signaling a call on the other line. She pulled the phone away from her ear quickly and looked at the number, noticing that it was Camryn.

"Shit. B, can you hang on a second? Kinda gotta get this other line."

"_Sure."_

Faith clicked over to the other line and answered, "Hey Cam."

"_Hey Faith. I just got a call from Father Shannon. He was released from the hospital this afternoon and he's feeling better. He didn't have your number so he asked me to call you and let you know."_

"Thanks. I'll have to run over and thank him for everything. He really came through, yunno?"

"_Yeah. It was a pretty crazy situation."_

"For real, right?" Faith said and laughed. "Sorry I had to drag you into it all, Cam. Didn't have anyone else to call."

"_I was happy to help, Faith. Listen, I've gotta run, I'm already late for work. I'll talk to you later?"_

"Yeah. Later." She hit the send button and the line switched over to the other call. "Sorry, B."

"_It's okay," _Buffy said. "_Camryn?"_

"Yeah. Was fillin' me in on Father Shannon's progress. He's back home now and doing well."

"_Do you need to go?"_ Buffy asked. She really hoped Faith would say no; she liked Camryn but no way did she want to play second fiddle to her.

"Nope. Besides, I was just about to dazzle you with my heroic tale."

"_Well then I need to prepare to be dazzled,"_ Buffy said.

Faith heard footsteps on the other end of the line followed by a door closing. Then there was a rustling sound and she just couldn't sit and wonder what exactly Buffy was doing.

"What are you doing, B?" she asked with a smile.

"_I was in the living room and Dawn was harassing me. I'm in my room now, laying on my bed and fully prepared to be dazzled."_

"Uh, I know I'm pretty good but I'm not sure I can do that from this far away," Faith teased, earning a laugh from Buffy.

"_Start at the beginning, you goof. You were getting a lap dance . . ."_

"Do I have to start there?" Faith asked, cringing again.

"_Yes, and I want details. Go."_

Faith laughed, then put one of her arms behind her head and relaxed. "Right, so I was getting a lap dance – a lap dance that totally doesn't matter -- and there's this crazy crackling sound all around us. I look up and I see Red and Kennedy there and I shit you not, there was almost steam blowing out of her ears."

"_Sounds just like Willow. Then what happened?"_

"Well," Faith continued, not at all bothered by the fact that she'd be there for a good hour telling the story and missing the impromptu celebration Xander and Andrew were having downstairs.

********************

Night fell on Las Vegas and the lights and sounds made the Strip come alive like it was daytime. People were everywhere, crammed onto the busy sidewalks and walkways. The bright lights never seemed to reach the dark and dangerous alleys though where a group of four young men were holding up an older couple at knifepoint.

"Get everything, Jose," one thug said to another who was busy taking the couple's wallets and jewelry. "Don't forget his hat, we could get good money for that!"

When the couple was suitably robbed of anything valuable, Jose and the rest of the thugs took off down the alley, stopping only when they were sure there was no one following them. They began to divvy up the loot, bickering over who got what until a loud argument broke out among them.

They weren't sure who threw the first punch but suddenly all four men were pummeling one another in a flurry of fists and feet. The biggest of the four men easily had the upper hand and he knocked out all three of his companions before running down the alley with all of the loot tucked under his arm. He didn't make it far though; he was stopped when his breath got knocked out of him and a thick dark smoke left his body, as well as the unconscious bodies of his friends. He fell to the ground, gasping uncontrollably until he was finally still.

_Dead._

The smoke gathered and pooled until The Last took shape, his fierce eyes glowing red as he dusted off his red Armani suit and the amulet on his chest that still swirled with dark smoke.

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me, kiddies."

_~Roll credits~_


	9. Episode 9: Adventures in Babysitting

**Note: **Thanks so much to everyone who has sent feedback and encouraging words, you guys are great :) Just two episodes left after this one!

Previously on Walk The Line:

_Night fell on Las Vegas and the lights and sounds made the Strip come alive like it was daytime. People were everywhere, crammed onto the busy sidewalks and walkways. The bright lights never seemed to reach the dark and dangerous alleys though where a group of four young men were holding up an older couple at knifepoint._

_When the couple was suitably robbed of anything valuable, the thugs took off down the alley, stopping only when they were sure there was no one following them. They began to divvy up the loot, bickering over __who__ got what until a loud argument broke out among them._

_They weren't sure who threw the first punch but suddenly all four men were pummeling one another in a flurry of fists and feet. The biggest of the four men easily had the upper hand and he knocked out all three of his companions before running down the alley with all of the loot tucked under his arm. He didn't make it far though; he was stopped when his breath got knocked out of him and a thick dark smoke left his body, as well as the unconscious bodies of his friends. He fell to the ground, gasping uncontrollably until he was finally still. _

_Dead._

_The smoke gathered and pooled until The Last took shape, his fierce eyes glowing red as he dusted off his red Armani suit and the amulet on his chest that still swirled with dark smoke._

"_It's gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me, kiddies."_

_

* * *

_

**Episode 1.09****: Adventures in Babysitting**

_Two Weeks Later . . ._

The street outside of the bus station was dark and dreary, the pavement still wet from the evening's earlier rain. Sara's shoes scraped along the gravel despite her careful steps; she was trying her best to go unnoticed and failing miserably. Despite her time in big cities, a near-abandoned bus station in Los Angeles in the middle of the night just didn't feel like the safest place to be.

She had to leave though and this appeared to be the only way. No one would listen to her warnings and when she asked Giles if she could leave, he hemmed and hawed and finally told her that her best place was with her sister slayers. That was his way, of course, of saying that the Powers That Be didn't want her going back to Las Vegas and he was merely doing what he was told to do until he received further instructions.

Well screw that, Sara thought. Faith had been the one to help her back in Las Vegas and now it was time to return the favor. Sitting around and practicing spin-kicks and stake-throwing wasn't helping Faith and it certainly wasn't stopping the visions she was having.

_Blood curdling screams. Clouds of black smoke. _

_Red eyes. _

_Black eyes. _

_Oblivion._

She'd heard about the triumphant defeat of The Last the day after it had happened. She'd seen Willow come back from Las Vegas, ego bruised and heart sick over her failure. Watched Giles smile with pride as Kennedy replayed the events over again for the young slayers. Cheered with them as they jumped around in celebration.

And that was when the first vision had happened, hazy and uncertain, just a glimpse. She'd kept it to herself, hoping that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Five days and one hundred repeats of the same vision later and she told Giles. A week later and she was sneaking out of the slayer training facility and to a bus station with nothing more than twenty dollars and an address scribbled on the back of a receipt in her pocket.

She made it into the bus station unscathed, receiving only a few wolf-whistles from a small group of guys walking by outside. Safely inside, she looked around and found the station virtually deserted. There were two women waiting on a bench and chatting away while the ticketperson sat behind the dirty plexi-glass and watched the nightly news.

Taking a deep breath, Sara walked up to the window and cleared her throat quietly when the he didn't look up at her.

"Can I help you?" he asked, not moving his gaze from the television in his cubicle.

"I need a ticket to Las Vegas, one way please."

The man punched a few buttons on the keyboard and finally looked over to Sara, his brow furrowing when he noticed how young she was.

"That'll be $42.00. Non-refundable."

Knowing she only had twenty dollars in her pocket, Sara bit her lower lip and pulled the bill out, laying it down on the counter.

"This is all I have."

Groaning, the man sat back in his chair and turned his attention back to the television. "Then you don't have a ticket."

"Please," Sara begged, "I need to get to Las Vegas. Someone could be in trouble."

"Everyone's in some kinda trouble, kid. I'll probably get canned if my boss finds out I'm watching the lottery at work but hey . . . MegaMillions is up to thirty-six million tonight. I'll risk the trouble if it means I get to dump this crap job."

"But you don't understand," she continued but was cut off by the man who held up his hand. The lottery was starting and he wanted to listen, eagerly arranging a stack of tickets on the countertop.

"_Tonight's first winning MegaMillions number is . . . one!"_

"One? Who the hell picks one?" he griped.

"_Tonight's second winning MegaMillions number is . . . two!"_

"Dammit!"

Seemingly forgotten and still no closer to Las Vegas, Sara decided she needed to step things up a bit. It was highly against the rules as well as her better judgment but she was running out of options.

"Fourteen," she said suddenly.

The man scoffed at her and went back to watching the television.

"_Tonight's third winning MegaMillions number is . . . fourteen!"_

He looked over at Sara in wonder but quickly scoffed again. "Lucky guess."

"Forty-nine," she said, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"Yeah right," he sneered.

"_Tonight's fourth winning MegaMillions number is . . . forty-nine!"_

"How are you doing that?"

"Lucky guess, right?" Sara taunted. "Thirty-three."

The man quickly looked at the television to see the number thirty-three appear on the screen. Still gazing at the screen in awe, he only barely heard Sara say, "Twenty."

"_And tonight's Mega number is . . . twenty, making tonight's winning MegaMillions numbers one, two, fourteen, forty-nine, and thirty-three and the Mega number twenty."_

Fighting the smirk that wanted to creep up on her face, Sara tried to remain as nonchalant as possible as the man slowly looked over at her, his eyes wide with amazement and just a touch of fear. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, unable to process what had just happened.

"You want tomorrow's numbers?" Sara asked. "Get me to Las Vegas."

********************

There was a loud shuffling noise on the front step before the front door of Faith's house came flying open, sent crashing inward by her booted foot. Faith came stumbling into the front room with Andrew slung over her shoulder, doing her best not to hit his head on the door frame. The loud thud followed by a whiney groan coming from him, however, made her realize that she wasn't so successful in that.

Practically dropping him on the armchair, she flopped onto the sofa and put a pillow over her head, trying to block out the early morning sun. Not more than a few moments later, Xander stumbled into the apartment too, closing the now broken door behind him. Seeing both the sofa and comfy armchair taken, he climbed onto the kitchen table and curled up on his side, using a loaf of bread as a pillow.

"Scale of one to ten, how much fun did you guys have tonight?" Faith mumbled from under her pillow.

"Seventeen," Xander yawned.

"Lipstick kisses," Andrew replied sleepily.

Faith chuckled at that and poked her head out from under the pillow to look at Andrew, his face covered in various shades of lip prints. Even though Xander was further away across the room, she could make out the imprint of several sets of lip prints on his face too. Knowing that she didn't have to look in a mirror to find out that she was the only one without them, she put the pillow back over her head and closed her eyes, a genuine smile on her face.

Celebrating a victory had never felt so good, especially now that she had friends at her side to do so with.

********************

It was a few hours later when Anya shimmered into the living room, looking around to find Faith, Andrew and Xander still sleeping where they'd fallen. She was going to calmly wake them and tell them the news of their impending visitor but when the smell of stale alcohol and cigarettes assailed her senses, all calm went out the window.

"Wake up, slackers!" she shouted huffily.

When none of them stirred in even the slightest bit, she tried again.

"I have permission to use violence. I'd suggest you all pay me attention and explain why fun was had and I wasn't invited!"

The only response this time was a quiet snort from Andrew, followed by a mumble about feather boas. Getting more annoyed as the silence continued, Anya crossed her arms over her chest and decided to try one last tactic.

"Fine. Continue to sleep. I'm going to steal your wallets as you lay helpless and spend all of your money at a casino."

She cocked her head to the side then, realizing that she could probably do that if she wanted to. She could take their measly funds and turn it into a large profit. With the way she excelled at everything else she did, surely she'd be a wiz at roulette!

Creeping stealthily across the floor even for a ghost, she used her newly developed concentration to reach into Andrew's pocket, hoping to find his wallet. When all she found was a bottle cap and a gum wrapper, she began to withdraw her hand only to notice at the last moment that Andrew's eyes had blinked open and he was staring at her, confused.

"Why does my mouth taste like a garbage can? And why were you touching my special place?"

"Trust me, there's nothing special about it," Anya dismissed his question and wiped off her hand on her pants. "Where is your wallet? How can I get rich if I can't steal your cash to use for seed money?"

Still determined, she stepped over the couch and began to dip into Faith's pocket when Faith's hand shot out and tried to catch her wrist. It went right through said wrist, causing Anya to laugh victoriously.

"Unless you're tryin to cop a feel, you ain't gonna find anything in there. My money's in my bra," Faith grumbled before moving the pillow off of her head. "And before you try, hands off. No one touches the goodies."

"No one except for Buffy," Anya countered, smiling victoriously once again when Faith shot her an annoyed glare.

"Why is the world sideways," Xander groaned as he cracked his eyelid open just a tiny bit and discovered it was a completely squished loaf of bread. "I guess that means French Toast is out of the question."

"I hope you're all very proud of yourselves," Anya began with her hands on her hips, trying to sound self-righteous. "You all smell horrible and look ridiculous with that colorful war paint all over your faces."

"It's not war paint, it's lipstick, and it ain't on me so leave me the hell out of the lecture you're about to give," Faith said, swinging her legs over the end of the couch to sit up straight. She groaned as her head started to spin, last night's alcohol-induced partying taking its toll on her.

Anya looked over at Andrew and Xander, her eyes widening as she realized that it was, in fact, lipstick on their faces.

"Alexander Harris!" she scolded.

Xander jumped at hearing his whole name used like that.

"What? I behaved! There was celebrating and victory dancing. There may have been a lap dance or two thanks to Faith's ever-giving wallet, but these lips have smooched no others, my delicate little lovebug," he said, hoping to appease her.

"It's true, An," Faith said as she stood up and stretched. "Despite the fact that you're all ghostly and can't touch him or have any kind of relationship with the dude, Xan was a perfect gentleman. You've got him whipped good. Andy over here, on the other hand, was a complete stud. The ladies love Crazy A." Her grin was wide as she looked over at Andrew and winked at him, proud that he'd finally caved in and celebrated with them.

Andrew was busy looking down at his feet, noticing that he was only wearing one shoe.

"I vomited in my own shoe last night, didn't I?" he asked.

"Yeah, ya did," Faith answered, trying not to laugh. "Up side? Walkin with one shoe on gave you a swagger that drove the ladies _wild_."

The corner of Andrew's mouth curled up in a proud grin but his split-second of pride was stomped on by an ever-sarcastic Anya.

"Pardon me but I think that the alcohol may have given you all temporary retardation. I think we've already come to a mutual agreement here that Andrew is the gayest gay that ever gayed. Honestly, why do we keep pretending that he's not? Is it a game that I wasn't made aware of? Is there a prize?" After a moment she changed her tone to a more inquisitive one. "No really, is there a prize? I'm a fan of gifts."

After a long, awkward silence, Faith finally spoke up.

"How 'bout we quit takin' bets on the kid's sexuality and you tell us why you've decided to grace us with your presence so early on this fine day."

"It's not early, it's almost noon and I'm here because the Powers said you're to expect a visitor."

"Got my visitor five days ago, An. Thank the big guys up there for lookin' out for my reproductive health though. And hey, why the heck are they bothering me? We killed the baddie, it's time for a bit of R&R."

"Menstruation humor aside, just because you killed one bad guy doesn't mean you can shirk your responsibilities."

"Hey, there's been no shirking. I've been shirk-free since we left LA. Been slaying as usual but last night was for fun. I deserve it and these guys deserve it. Doin' the right thing doesn't mean stayin home and playin tiddlywinks though."

"Yes, I understand," Anya said, frustrated. "But while you were out living it up, Sara was sneaking away from Giles and hitching a ride on a bus to get back to Las Vegas. To top it off, she used her psychic powers to get the bus ticket."

"Well where is she now?" Faith asked.

Just as Anya opened her mouth to answer, a tentative knock was heard on the other side of the broken door, sending it swinging inside to reveal Sara standing there with an apologetic smile on her face.

"Oops?"

********************

Sara sat awkwardly at the kitchen table, warily eyeing up the squished loaf of bread that still remained there. Andrew was busy in the kitchen brewing up some coffee and making a quick bite to eat for Faith, Xander and Sara despite his own protesting stomach.

"So . . ." Faith began as she took the seat opposite of Sara. She waited for the girl to continue.

"So . . . hi?" Sara tried, knowing that she was more likely than not in trouble. When Faith raised an eyebrow at her, she quickly continued. "I know, I know. There's yelling to be had and lessons to be taught. 'You're only seventeen, Sara. You're supposed to be with Mr. Giles and the other girls like you. You shouldn't have left without permission. Do you know how dangerous it is for a girl your age to travel alone at night?' I'm prepared for all of those. Is there anything else you need to add before I start explaining?"

"Actually, that about sums it up," Faith said. "Wait, just thought of somethin' else: ya shouldn't use your abilities to benefit yourself."

"Ah right, I forgot about that one," Sara said guiltily. "But I'll have you know that I'm seventeen and a half, I'm strong enough to defend myself against most humans thanks to my uber-slayerness, and I would have gotten permission if Giles would have given it but he was determined to keep me in LA. And I only used my ability because I was desperate. This is a lot more about my ability than anything else."

"What do you mean?" Faith asked as Andrew entered with a tray of juice and freshly cut fruits and muffins. She grabbed a muffin from the tray and wolfed it down, barely able to keep her lips closed around it as she chewed.

"I mean . . . I've been having visions. One vision, actually, on repeat. And I told Giles about it but he kept telling me it was in my best interest to stay there with him."

"It's because that's what the Powers That Be told him to do," Anya interrupted. "They don't want you here. You're supposed to be far away from Las Vegas where things are safer and your life isn't in danger. You should go, now."

"Why would her life be in danger here?" Faith asked around a mouthful of muffin, taking a moment to swallow. "The Last is toast."

"Maybe," Sara cut in.

"Maybe what?" Faith asked, confused.

"Maybe he's toast, maybe he's not."

Faith went to speak again but quickly stopped as she saw Anya clamp her hands over her ears and begin to shout.

"Ahh, I hear you, I hear you!" Anya griped, looking up towards the ceiling as she grimaced. Standing up straight and smoothing out her clothes, she tried to appear calm again as she spoke to Sara. "The Powers That Be ever so kindly request that you return to Los Angeles at once."

"What?" Faith asked, standing up from her chair. "What the hell are the Powers up to? What don't they want me to know?" She turned to Sara then, "And what do you mean 'maybe he's not?' That fucker is gone, I watched him explode into a million pieces of exorcised bits."

"I don't know," Sara said. "It's the visions. I can't control them. I'm not even sure what they mean."

"Well what do you see?" Faith asked, shooting Anya a glare that quieted her down when she tried to speak again.

Sara looked off to the side, recalling her vision. _Red eyes. Black eyes. Oblivion_. Shaking her head gently and squeezing her bright blue eyes shut for a moment, she turned back to Faith and looked into her eyes.

"I don't know. All I know is . . . I can still feel him in the air, like a parasite clinging to its host. I wish I could share in the celebrating and happiness but if he's really gone then why am I still getting the visions and why can I still feel him?"

"Maybe it's just some kinda delayed response."

"Maybe," Sara said with a shrug though the look on her face made Faith realize that the young girl didn't really think so.

Sighing, Faith grabbed her car keys from the table and turned to Anya.

"The Powers can kiss my ass. If they think I'm gonna send Sara back to LA and go about on my blissfully ignorant way they can guess again. Go and tell them to fill me in or to fuck off and let me do it on my own."

Biting on her bottom lip, Anya finally nodded and shimmered out, leaving behind her still shocked friends and a regretful looking Sara.

So much for celebrating. So much for being successful. So much for Faith finally getting something right in her life.

Taking a deep breath, Faith turned to Sara. "If he's really back can you tell me where he is?" she asked, deflated.

"No," Sara replied. "But maybe I can show you."

********************

Despite the fact that it was only the afternoon, the Vegas Strip was already fairly busy. Faith, along with Sara, Andrew and Xander had driven there and parked the truck, opting instead to walk around since Sara couldn't seem to get a good read on where the feeling was coming from.

They walked in front of the MGM Grand and over the walkway that lead to New York New York, taking some time to rest on the small bridge as traffic moved below them. Sara closed her eyes and tried to focus.

"Anything?" Faith asked, ignoring the weird looks they were getting from the passersby.

"Nothing distinct," Sara said, frustrated. "I can feel him everywhere but I can't tell where it's coming from specifically. Maybe it's some kind of fluke." She opened her eyes and looked over at Faith, her confusion and frustration evident on her face.

"Chances are it's not a fluke," Faith replied. "Shoulda guessed it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of him. That Catholic mojo was all hocus pocus. Got the demon out but didn't kill him."

"At least Willow is safe," Sara tried to reassure her but Faith just scoffed at that.

"Yeah but no one else is. What the fuck were the Powers That Be thinking? The Last's been out there for two weeks now regrouping and probably infecting hundreds of people while I was out celebrating. Nothing like enabled ignorance to make a girl feel special."

"We couldn't have known, Faith," Xander said.

"Yeah, we coulda, but your honey and the idiots upstairs decided to keep us in the dark for purposes unknown," Faith replied bitterly.

If Anya thought she was off the hook, she was painfully wrong. Faith was definitely stopping at a pet store on the way home. Bunnies made good pets, right?

"Faith, if they were really trying to keep us in the dark don't you think they would stop sending Sara her visions?" Xander tried.

"They didn't want her to know," Sara said thoughtfully, her eyes fixed on some far off place as a look of concentration passed across her face. "If Faith knew he was still alive, she'd lose hope and they'd lose their main player in this battle. They need her."

Faith, Xander and Andrew were all staring at her then, waiting for some kind of explanation. After a few moments she blinked her eyes hard and shook her head, coming back to reality.

"The link is severed now but I was able to tap into The Powers," Sara explained. "They knew I was reading them. They shut down the link but you heard the gist of it."

"Yeah, some gist," Faith said, looking off to the side and taking a deep breath before. If the Powers needed her so badly, why couldn't they just keep her in the fucking loop? Besides, letting her think she'd gotten rid of The Last and then finding out that she really hadn't was an even surer way to make her lose faith in herself. Looking back over at Sara, Faith continued. "Well, they have as much faith in my resolve to get this done as I have in them at this point to give me any kinda actual help."

"I don't mean to interrupt but do you think we could go and have a seat, possibly a bottle of water? A bottle of aspirin too if anyone can spare it?" Andrew asked, his dark sunglasses looking almost comical on his weary face.

"That's what you get for doing body shots off of seven strippers, buddy," Faith replied, a grin tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Seven?"

"Seven."

Andrew pressed his lips together in a straight line then, his color taking on a green tone.

"I think I'm gonna be ill," he said, placing his hand over his mouth.

"Hurry, someone give the kid a shoe," Faith joked, earning a pained expression from Andrew.

Xander laughed and took that opportunity to step over to Andrew to help him over to the stairs at the end of the walkway. They quickly made their way down, Andrew stopping just in time to yak up his afternoon coffee at the base of the Statue of Liberty replica. Faith watched on from the walkway above with a grimace on her face, happy that she didn't have to be the one to hold back Andrew's hair or something worse.

Turning back to Sara, Faith was about to speak again but noticed that the girl was concentrating hard, frustration still evident on her face. Deciding to give her a bit of time and space to do her thing, she began to leave to join Xander and Andrew below but stopped when she nearly tripped over something. She looked down to find a young boy of no more than five or six years old standing in front of her, his big blue eyes filled with tears.

"Watch out, kid," she said annoyed, still trying to regain her balance. "Your mother teach ya how to walk?"

And just like that the little boy began to cry loudly, tears streaming down his red cheeks.

"Whoa, settle down junior. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to be all agro," she apologized but the child continued crying. By now several passersby were watching them and Faith suddenly realized that an angry parent was probably about two seconds away from giving her a nice lecture on how to treat kids. "Come on, I barely touched ya. Quit it with the waterworks."

The little boy stopped crying as loudly but continued to sniffle, his bottom lip quivering as he looked up at Faith.

Fairly impressed that he'd listened to her and that she hadn't been stroller-whipped by an angry parent yet, Faith looked around, wondering where exactly said angry-parent was.

"Where's your Ma and why isn't she tryin' to keep you from getting' bratnapped?"

"I don't know," he mumbled, his bottom lip coming out in a sad pout.

"What do you mean you don't know? Pretty sure little kids don't come solo to Vegas for booze and broads." Looking over to Sara who was now standing at her side and witnessing the conversation, Faith asked her, "They don't, right?"

"Pretty sure they're not supposed to," Sara answered, never moving her gaze from the little boy. She squatted down in front of him and offered him a friendly smile. "My name is Sara. What's yours?"

"Ryan."

"Ryan, do you know where you mommy is?" she asked sweetly.

"I can't find her," he said, the tears starting to fall a lot faster now. "She put all of her dollars in the machine with the lights on it and then she got mad and she went to get more money so that she could win big but she forgot to come back."

Sara looked up to Faith then, a knowing look on her face.

"From the info Giles has been gathering, that sounds like greed to me," she said. "No wonder I can feel The Last all over. People are infected. I can sense him in them." Turning her attention back to Ryan, she smiled again. "Do you think you can remember which hotel you were at?"

Ryan looked around, biting on his lower lip as he tried to remember which building he had come from. The walls on the walkway were too high for him to see though and the tears started to fall again in earnest. He looked up at Sara and tried to stop his tears, opting instead to look up at Faith who gave him a little nod when he managed to keep it together.

"I can't remember," he said sadly.

"It's okay," Sara replied, standing up and holding out her hand to him. "We're gonna take you someplace where they can help you find your mommy."

Staring at the outstretched hand for a few seconds, Ryan quickly stepped around her and took Faith's hand instead, earning a strange look from Faith who held their clasped hands out like she was attached to a bomb.

"Oh great," she grumbled.

********************

"Las Vegas Metro, please hold," the man behind the desk said into the telephone, putting it back down on the hook temporarily so that he could finish speaking to the people standing before him. "Look, I've already told you, there's not much we can do. We'll put his info in our database and if one of his parents come to look for him, everyone gets a happy ending."

"But his mother is gambling in one of the casinos," Sara explained to the officer as calmly as possible. "You know how gambling addicts are; she probably doesn't even realize that he isn't there."

There was no way that she could tell him that his mother was infected by greed without him thinking that she herself was infected with crazy. Gambling addict it was.

"Then he's probably better off without her," the officer said.

"So what's gonna happen to him?" Faith finally asked after having been quiet the whole time they'd been there. Police stations still freaked her out after all this time.

All three of them looked over to the bench in the hall where Xander, Andrew and Ryan were sitting, Andrew nursing a bottle of water while Xander read a comic book to the little boy.

"Family services will come and take him, put him in a temporary facility until he can be placed with a family."

"Foster care?" Faith asked grimly, looking to the officer and back to the boy. She'd had her own experience with foster care back when she was a teenager. Trying to ignore the chill that went down her spine, she listened to the officer.

"If he doesn't have a family member to stay with, it's the best we can do." At Faith's glare, he continued, "Lady, we're not babysitters here and there's no way we can canvass every casino in Las Vegas with a flyer of the kid, hoping that someone recognizes him."

"Whatever," Faith said, looking back over at Ryan who was now laughing at something Xander was showing him. When big blue eyes looked up and over at her, so innocent and young and trusting, she knew she couldn't do to him what had screwed her up so badly when she was young.

"I'm just gonna need you to fill out this report," the officer said, looking around his messy desk for the paperwork he'd had in his hands just two minutes before.

By the time he managed to find it and put it on a clipboard, he looked up to find he was alone at the desk and that the bench was now empty. He looked up and down the hall, wondering where exactly they'd disappeared to so quickly. He didn't have time for this! About to pick up the phone to alert his superiors to the situation, he was thrown off guard as two lines began to ring simultaneously.

And just like that, the lost little boy was forgotten about again and one more child was spared from the foster care system.

********************

Faith's house was thrown into a flurry of activity as they went back there to regroup and come up with some kind of a game plan. Xander was put on Ryan-watching duty seeing as though the little boy had taken a liking to him, though Ryan wouldn't let Faith out of his sight before he started to panic a little. She didn't understand why he seemed strangely attached to her and truth be told she didn't have time to ponder her child magnetism. She had bigger problems to tend to.

"Andrew, get Giles on the phone and see if he knew about any of this shit. Let him know Sara's here and safe and that she's not coming back until we know what the hell's going on."

"Permission to clean up the language just a smidge?"

"Whatever, just make sure he knows I'm pissed." When Andrew turned to make the call, Faith turned her attention to Sara who preempted her orders.

"I know, I know, call my parents. I'm on it."

Faith pointed her in the direction of the kitchen so she could have a bit of privacy. With Sara and Andrew busy making calls and Xander busy entertaining Ryan with a game on the Xbox, Faith made her way into her office and called out to Anya. Seconds later a shimmer appeared and Anya was standing before her looking as meek and mild as ever.

"Please don't yell at me," Anya began before Faith could start. "They're yelling at me up there, you're yelling at me dwon here, I'm feeling very helpless and I can't even have chocolate or sex to make me feel better."

"Sounds like a real rough sitch," Faith said tongue-in-cheek. "We can just ignore the whole deal with The Last and the lost little boy so I can feel sorry for you for a little while."

"Really?" Anya asked, a small smile on her face. When she saw Faith raise an eyebrow at her in disbelief, her shoulders slumped and she sighed. "Sarcasm. Excellent. Just what I need."

"I need you to tell me exactly what's going on and I need to know five minutes ago."

Using her concentration, Anya flopped back into one of the chairs and sighed, not even knowing where to begin.

"Nothing is certain. The Powers knew that The Last wasn't gone but they couldn't let you know that and before you ask, they never really told me either. I knew something was up but when I asked they ignored me. It wasn't pleasant."

"Why would they let me go on thinking he was gone?" Faith asked, annoyed.

"Because they knew you were already losing hope because you hadn't found a way to beat him yet. They thought that if you thought you'd won, it would make you proud again and willing to fight harder when the truth came out."

Faith thought about that for a moment before saying, "That's some fucked up logic. Why don't they want Sara here?"

"Because they don't think she's ready for something of this magnitude. If The Last knows we have someone powerful like her on our side, he's going to gun for her. She's too important an asset."

"So what now? Sara's here and I know the truth."

"They don't know what to do now. Instead there's arguing and fighting over what the right course of action is."

"And until they figure it out?"

Anya pressed her lips into a tight line and drew in a deep breath through her nose as she thought about it.

"Take your own course of action. That's not what they told me to tell you, of course, but I think that's what you should do. I'm usually right about these kinds of things."

Faith couldn't help but chuckle at that. No matter what the Powers told Anya to do or say, she always managed to do things her own way as well. It was probably time for her to start doing the same thing too.

Anya's gaze flickered up to the ceiling, then back to Faith.

"They're calling me. I'll see what I can find out. In the meanwhile . . ."

". . . help the little boy," Faith said with a nod, knowing that finding his mom and saving her would mean saving him as well.

Anya didn't say anything further. She just nodded and shimmered out, leaving Faith alone in the office to figure out her own mess. Faith was just about to get up and check on her friends when her cell phone started to ring. She pulled it from her pocket and smiled when she saw Buffy's name on the display.

"What's up, B?" she said as she answered the call, unable to keep the small smile from her lips despite the load of shit she'd just had dumped on her otherwise happy existence.

"_Is it true?"_

"Depends what you're talkin' about."

"_Andrew's on the other line with Giles. He said that The Last's not really gone,"_ Buffy explained.

"Ahh yeah, that," Faith said and sighed as she rested back in her chair. "'fraid so. Not really sure what's goin' on yet but the exorcism didn't work like we thought. Got The Last outta Red but didn't kill him."

There was a short pause on the line before Buffy responded, _"I'm sorry."_

"Why would you need to be sorry?" Faith asked, confused. "Unless you were in on the big secret you have nothing to be sorry for."

"_No, no secrets. I just feel . . . like I should be there. I feel like I'm being selfish by not helping with anything more strenuous than research."_

Faith laughed quietly. "I dunno about that. Research can be pretty strenuous. Some of those books Giles has are wicked heavy. Bet you probably struggle with those scrawny little arms of yours."

"_There's nothing scrawny about my arms, I'll have you know,"_ Buffy defended.

"Got me there, B. They're pretty damn perfect, just like the rest of you."

Faith listened to the silence on the other end, practically able to hear the blush creep up on Buffy's cheeks. This was how there conversations had gone over the last couple of weeks. Faith would flirt, Buffy would flirt back, but it never went beyond that. Still, Faith was happy with having even that. At least it wasn't like in the days back in Sunnydale where she would flirt and Buffy would run away. Or, yunno, smack her around a bit.

This was definitely a new chapter in the book that was Faith's Buffy Obsession. She liked to call it, Not Quite Unrequited. It was definitely a step in the right direction.

"_I'm thinking about ending my retirement. I should be there helping,"_ Buffy said sincerely, a bit of apprehension in her voice.

And as flattered as Faith was that Buffy wanted to help, she knew this was something she needed to handle on her own.

"It's cool that you offered Buffy, really, it is. You need to do what's right for you though, and tryin' to clean up my mess isn't the answer." When Buffy began to protest, Faith continued. "Besides, you really wanna help me? Just talk dirty to me for a little while."

She grinned to herself, once again amused at the thought of Buffy squirming around uncomfortably. Normally she'd never be this open with the flirting but something had changed between them. The awkwardness was gone. Openly flirting? She'd be damned if it didn't feel kinda right.

"_You're really going for it tonight, aren't you?"_ Buffy asked playfully.

"Don't have much to lose at this point, B," Faith answered, holding her breath for Buffy's response. "So what are ya waitin' for?"

She expected to be brushed off or laughed at. She definitely wasn't ready for the response she got back.

"_Do you really want me to?"_

"Hell yeah!" she laughed in disbelief. Any second now Buffy was going to laugh at her and reveal the evil plot to dupe her. She was ready for it. All she had to do was wait and . . .

"_Well, uh, how do I start?"_

And Faith definitely had to laugh aloud now. This was all a bit surreal! She needed to see how it was going to play out though.

"You go somewhere private and tell me what you're wearing."

And then she heard Buffy getting up and walking through the house. What . . . was this really happening? Was Buffy really going to talk dirty to her? A huge smile gracing her face, Faith leaned back in her chair and ran a hand through her hair, still in disbelief. That's when she caught a small movement from the corner of her eye. She looked over to the door and saw Ryan there practically hugging the doorframe as he stared at her.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her smile falling from her face.

"_Well you can tell me how this works for starters. I'm in virgin territory here,"_ Buffy answered as the sound of a door closing came through the phone.

"Not you B, hold up a sec," Faith said into the phone before pulling it away from her face a bit. She looked at Ryan expectantly, waiting for him to say something.

"There were horsies," he said quietly.

"Where?" Faith asked, confused.

"Where I was with my mommy. There were horsies and knights. And chicken."

"_Faith?"_ Buffy asked.

"I have no idea what this kid just said," Faith said blankly, staring at the little boy. But then something clicked in her mind; Andrew asking her day in and day out when they could go and see the Tournament of Kings. Horses and knights. "Excalibur."

"_What? Is this a part of the dirty talking?"_

"What? B, no . . . shit, I'm gonna kick myself for this but I have to go."

"_Oh. Okay. Was it something I said? Or something I didn't say? Because, in general, is there really a correct response to 'exaclibur' that I didn't learn in high school?" _Buffy asked, confused.

"You defo didn't say anything wrong. It was all kinds of right. But something just kinda came up and it probably deserves some attention."

"_I get it. Time to play superhero,"_ Buffy said easily. It was the life of a slayer; she was used to it by now.

"If you think I'm lettin' ya off the hook though you're crazy wrong. I'm gonna call you later after I clean up this other mess so that we can continue this."

"_I'll be here."_

"Better be," Faith said and clicked the phone shut, impressed with her forwardness and Buffy's reception to it but too distracted to focus on it now. She turned her attention back to Ryan. "Think I might know where we can find your Ma, kid."

********************

"Have I mentioned how excited I am? You guys are going to be completely impressed," Andrew said as they all walked into the front entrance of Excalibur, one of the many themed hotel and casinos on the strip.

From the outside the hotel looked like a huge medieval castle, complete with colored turrets, draw-bridges and flags. Much of that theme continued inside where court jesters and other actors were dressed up like medieval characters, entertaining the guests.

Ryan's eyes lit up as he looked around, instantly recognizing the casino floor.

"This is where me and mommy were!"

Faith barely heard the words coming out of his mouth, instead only able to focus on the way he was holding her hand like his life depended on it. She didn't like kids; she didn't understand them. She didn't know why he felt the need to cling to her. All she knew was that there was something sticky on his palm and that every time she tried to pull away, the stickiness kept them stuck together.

Getting covered in a demon's guts was easy. Having a kid put his sticky paws all over her was another story.

"Great, now all we have to do is hope that she hasn't moved on to a different casino," Xander said, standing on the tips of his toes to get a better look around.

"No, she's here," Sara said, her eyes focused on some far away place as a vision showed her what they needed to know. "Quarter slots. Black shirt. Brown hair."

"Everyone hear that? Keep an eye out for her. Might be easiest if we split up in groups of two, cover more territory at once," Faith suggested.

"And if we find her?" Andrew asked. "She's infected. I highly doubt she'll just come with us if she's feeling greed for this long."

Faith held up a small leather backpack with her free hand and smiled. "That's why we brought the supplies with us, Andy ol' boy. Xan, you go with Sara. Andrew, you're with me. Call if you spot her."

Xander and Sara nodded at Faith, then headed off in search of Ryan's mom. Faith and Andrew headed in the opposite direction, Faith checking out the machines as they passed for any type of quarter slots. Ryan let himself be tugged along, gripping tighter and tighter onto Faith's hand every time she tried to pull away.

When they passed by a large ticketing counter, Andrew glanced over at it, a big smile appearing on his face.

"That's where we get the tickets for the Tournament of Kings. Maybe I should go over now while there's no line and get our tickets for later."

"No one ever agreed to go to that, yunno," Faith explained.

"Oh, you will," Andrew said as he stood next to a poster of the Tournament. He held his hands out like he was Vanna White turning the letters around on the Wheel of Fortune, proudly displaying the teaser of the show.

Faith just chuckled and looked away, glancing over at the ticket counter. She did a double-take when she read a sign at the window that she read aloud. "We apologize for the inconvenience but the Tournament of Kings is closed until further notice."

"What?" Andrew asked, visibly upset.

Faith nodded her head in the direction of the counter and they made their way over to it. She finally managed to pry her hand away from Ryan, rolling her eyes when a panicked look crossed his face. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a ten dollar bill -- which stuck to the sticky goo on her hand left over from Ryan -- and handed it to him. She needed to talk to the person at the ticket counter and couldn't do that with him clinging to her.

"See those machines over there?" she indicated a row of slot machines near the escalators to the lower floor. "Go and play."

Ryan looked at the money in his hand, then back up to Faith with a questioning look on his face.

Faith sighed, "Put the money in, get more money out? Spend it on toys and candy? Any of this sound familiar?"

Ryan stared at her for a moment longer before shrugging and running over toward the machines.

"I'm pretty sure that children aren't allowed to gamble," Andrew said.

"Never hurt me when I was a kid," Faith replied nonchalantly, ignoring the way one of Andrew's eyebrows quirked up when she'd said that. Yup, the kid was definitely picking up on some of her habits. Her smirk turned into a smile as one of the attendants at the ticket counter made her way over.

"I'm sorry," the woman began, a friendly smile on her face, "we're not selling tickets for the Tournament of Kings until further notice."

"That's a shame," Faith replied, feigning disappointment. "Think it'll be open tomorrow? The kids were really psyched about it." She shrugged her left shoulder in the direction of Andrew who was appropriately wearing his wounded-puppy look.

"I'm not really sure about that," the woman answered regretfully. "The horses have been acting up and we can't put on a show if it's dangerous for our actors. We do have some great restaurants and clubs though, I'm sure we can accommodate your needs."

Faith was about to speak but was distracted by the feeling of something tugging on her shirt. She turned to see Ryan standing there, a huge smile on his face.

"I won! I won!"

"Good job, kiddo," Faith said and ruffled his hair . . . which promptly stuck to the sticky spot on her hand and created an awkward scene as she tried to pull it away. When she finally managed to pry it away, Ryan's hair was sticking up crazily. Reaching into her pocket with her non-sticky hand, she pulled out another ten dollar bill and handed it to him.

Thankfully, he hopped off again which gave Faith another opportunity to speak with the ticketperson who was confused by the scene she'd just witnessed.

"Problem horses, huh," she said casually. "Maybe a day's rest will do them good."

The woman smiled pleasantly though it was easy to see she was getting a bit uncomfortable. Was that little boy gambling?

"We're not really sure. Something's spooked them and they're just not right. They're trying to redevelop the show without them until we can find a more permanent fix."

"That so? Well, we'll just have to come back when it's all back to normal." Offering the woman one last sweet smile, Faith grabbed Andrew's elbow and tugged him away from the counter until they were out of earshot. "Animals can sense evil, right?"

"I don't know, I'm not an evil veterinarian," Andrew replied, rubbing his now sore elbow.

"Pretty sure they can, and if that's the case, the horses are probably spooked cos they can sense The Last lingering around. We should probably call . . ."

And once again, Faith was interrupted by someone tugging her shirt. Ryan was standing there again, jumping around with a cup full of quarters in his hands.

"I won! I won!" he said excitedly, the quarters jangling noisily.

Faith put her index finger on the rim of the cup and tipped it in her direction just enough to see that it was indeed filled with quarters. Needless to say, she was pretty impressed. Maybe they needed to keep him around a little bit longer.

"That's pretty lucky, Ry. Gotta show me which machine you were playin' on so I can . . ."

And before she could finish her sentence, Ryan had his sticky hand in hers and was pulling her along to the row of slot machines. He walked right up to the one on the end . . . and then right past it to a change machine that was adjacent to it.

"A change machine?" Faith asked, her voice flat.

"I put the money in and I win every time!" Ryan replied, not quite understanding the concept of a change machine.

There were sarcastic comments that needed to be made. Fun that needed to be had at his expense. Faith wasn't even sure where to start, though Andrew's own laughter made a smile tug at the corner of her lips. Ryan could only look up at her with a big smile on his face, proud that he'd done good.

And really, who was she to tell him that he hadn't?

Opting this time not to rustle his hair – or touch any part of him where a sticky candy trail remained – she gave him a firm nod which just made him smile even bigger.

Luckily for them the moment never went to an awkward place as Faith's cell phone started to ring. Seeing Xander's number she quickly answered it, her focus moving back to the gambling floor.

"Tell me good news," she answered.

"We found her," Xander answered. "We're just opposite poker tables."

"On our way."

Without thinking, Faith grabbed Ryan's hand and tugged him along as she headed across the casino floor. Andrew pointed them in the right direction having spent some time in the casino there before. While he wasn't one to gamble, he _did_ enjoy wandering around and watching other people win. Besides, it was fun to watch the jesters harass people.

A short walk later and Faith saw Xander standing out in an aisle flagging them over. Ryan let go of Faith's hand and ran ahead, zipping past Xander and toward Sara who was standing next to his mother.

The woman definitely wasn't looking very well. It looked like she hadn't moved from the seat in days, her eyes transfixed on the machine before her. She'd probably been infected for a while and was no longer able to fight the greed within her. She was going to continue to play until she couldn't any longer; or until The Last decided it was time to collect his sin.

"Mommy!" Ryan yelled, clinging onto her leg as he hugged her tightly.

She barely even registered that he was there. She raised her arm and pulled the lever down once again, watching the three wheels spin until they stopped. The machine dinged loudly: she'd gotten three cherries. Roughly forty dollars was added to her credits and the ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips for a split second before she reached up for the lever again.

"She's pretty bad," Xander whispered to Faith, frowning as he watched the scene unfold.

"Ya think?" Faith asked, her eyes focusing on the little boy who now had tears in his eyes again.

"Mommy, can we please go home now? I just wanna go home. Please?" Ryan pleaded.

Again he went unanswered as his mother pulled the lever again. The greed was consuming her; her body couldn't react in any other way. Faith made her way over and stood dangerously close to the woman, her lips only inches from her ear as she spoke through gritted teeth.

"Get your shit together and take your son home," she said quiet enough so that Ryan couldn't' hear her. He looked up at her with pleading eyes as her words went unanswered by his mother. "Givin' you one last chance and then we do this the hard way."

Again, she got no response. Sighing loudly, she looked around, her eyes lighting up when she saw a restroom just down the aisle. She knew what she had to do. A beep from her pocket distracted her for a moment. She pulled her phone from her pocket to see a text message from Camryn.

_the girls had a gr8 time last night. they want u 2 bring Andrew back sum time. maybe we'll c u later?_

Faith quickly texted back; if anything went wrong she didn't want it to look like she and her friends had just up and disappeared.

_probs not. Last is back & bein a pain in my ass. tryin 2 save sum1. will xplain later. _

She tucked her phone back in her pocket and sighed. Why were things never easy? Was a demon-free vacation in Maui with Buffy serving her fruity drinks while topless too much to ask for?

Looking around one last time, she made sure no one was paying them special attention before slipping one arm around the woman's back and another under her knees and lifting her up, Ryan still busy clinging to her leg.

"What? Put me down, I have to keep playing. I'm winning!" The woman said, though her voice was fairly quiet and raspy and didn't garner any attention.

"What _are_ we doing?" Xander whispered loudly, eagerly looking around to see if anyone was witnessing the spectacle.

"We're taking her to the bathroom. You really want people to see us dousing her with holy water and chanting in Latin?"

"Good point," Xander said. He ran ahead of Faith and opened the door, coming face to face with an old lady who was exiting with her walker.

"Pervert," she said under her breath as she scooted away.

"Ma'am, I'm not . . . it's just . . . there's an emergency!" he said quickly.

The old lady just scooted away quicker, still grumbling under her breath. There was no time to dwell on it though as Faith approached and stepped inside the opened door, quickly making her way into the restroom while Ryan's mom protested and Ryan wept.

"Close the door, put the 'out of service' sign out," Faith directed and Sara and Andrew quickly complied, then ran into the long and narrow room to make sure that all of the stalls were empty.

Finally content that they were alone and would be for the next few minutes, Faith dropped the woman onto the vanity, careful not to let her butt slip down into one of the wet sinks. If there was one thing Faith knew, it was that walking around with wet pants was never fun. After all, she'd gone out slaying with Buffy night after night when they were back in Sunnydale, though maybe that was just a little bit different . . .

"What are you doing?" the woman asked, her eyes wide with fear as she watched Faith digging into the leather backpack.

Faith handed Andrew a small bowl filled with two plastic baggies which he immediately opened and began preparing. He crumbled the herbs into the ceramic bowl and tossed a lit match in with them, engulfing them in a yellow flame. When the smoke started to billow and fill the room, Faith knew that it was her time to shine.

Ryan's mom was nearly in full panic mode now. She didn't know who these people were or what they were doing and even worse, someone had probably already taken her seat at the machine she'd been playing on minutes before. They hadn't even let her collect her money before dragging her off!

"Ryan baby, do mommy a favor," she began. "Go back out there and find the machine mommy was playing on. You sit there and don't let anyone touch it."

"I just wanna go home," Ryan cried, pulling on her shorts. Everyone could see the absolute anguish he was in despite his earlier cheerfulness. It reminded Faith a little bit too much of her childhood.

_The bar was dark and dingy, just the way Meg Lehane liked them. She was on her ninth vodka martini – or was it tenth? – when she felt a tugging on her shirt. Looking over her shoulder she found her daughter Faith there, a scrawny little thing even at ten years old._

"_It's time to come home, Mom."_

"_I'll come home when I'm good and ready."_

Blinking the memory away, Faith stood up straight with a small plastic bottle in her hand. Ryan's mom eyed her warily, inching back even further on the counter.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving you," Faith said blankly before squeezing the bottle, covering the woman with a fine mist of holy water. "Vindico nos ex malum!"

Everyone watched with bated breath, waiting for the moment of release; for the black smoke to leave her body and free her from her sin. The woman just looked down at her wet clothes irritably and then back up at her captors.

"What was that all about?" she asked angrily. "As soon as I'm done collecting my winnings I'm going to find hotel security and report you all!"

Faith looked from Xander to Andrew, a confused look on her face. They all shrugged and Faith tried again, spraying even more water on the now spluttering woman.

"Vindico nos ex malum?"

Again they waited for the appropriate response but all they got was an annoyed huff as she wiped the water from her face.

"Maybe you're saying it wrong?"

"I'm not, that's how I said it last time."

"But last time didn't exactly work, right?"

"Hey, those were different circumstances!"

"Maybe a course in Latin would help you next time."

"Shut up! I'm not sayin' it wrong, I know I ain't."

Xander, Andrew and Faith continued to bicker among themselves as Sara looked on in confusion. No one was paying any attention to the woman or to Ryan now and thus missed it when Ryan wrapped his little arms around his mother's calves and rested his face on her knee, his tears spilling over her skin.

"Please don't leave me again. I'll be a good boy, I promise. I love you, mommy."

All arguing stopped then as a thick plume of black smoke filtered out of the woman's nose and mouth, leaving her gasping for air in its wake. Ryan watched with wide eyes, a look of terror on his face until he heard a shaky voice,

"Ryan, baby?" A moment passed before Ryan was scrambling up into her arms and they were fiercely hugging. "I'm so sorry, baby, so sorry. I didn't . . . I couldn't . . ."

"It wasn't your fault," Faith interrupted. "You were sick but we got it out of you."

"But why did you spray me with water?" the woman asked, puzzled. "Twice."

To that Faith could only shrug, looking at her friends for some kind of help.

"Maybe it was because she was infected longer than we were? It took a little bit of extra effort?" Andrew suggested with a shrug.

"Well, whatever you did . . . thank you. Thank you for bringing my little boy back to me."

"Can we go home now please?" Ryan asked, his voice muffled with his face pressed against her shoulder.

"Of course, baby. Of course." She hopped down from the countertop with Ryan still in her arms, clutching him protectively. She looked around at the people watching her, a grateful smile on her face. "Thank you."

The way Ryan was positioned, he was able to look right up into Faith's eyes. He held her gaze for a moment . . . then promptly knuckle-bumped her when she held out her fist. Faith chuckled and reached out, rustling his hair one last time.

"Take care, Ry-guy. And keep your mom away from those slots, yeah?"

Ryan simply smiled at Faith in response and rested his head back on his mother's shoulder, letting her carry him out of the bathroom, out of the casino, and back home where they belonged.

********************

Out in the desert The Last howled in anger, his red eyes glowing even more fiercely than usual. He pulled his tie aside and revealed the amulet embedded in his chest that was swirling with black smoke. He held his hand over it and felt its energy, letting it temporarily soothe him.

"Bitch thinks she can ruin my plans, she has another thing coming. It's time to hit her where it hurts the most."

He kept his hand over the amulet and laughed to himself, his fingers strumming over it in a steady rhythm. A heartbeat.

Yes indeed, he'd hit Faith right where it would hurt her the most.

********************

They entered the apartment to find Anya pacing around feverishly. Had she been corporeal there would have been a worn spot on the floor by now. She stopped as soon as they'd all entered, wringing her hands nervously instead.

"Thank god you're back. I was afraid that my involvement might have contributed in some way to your early demise. I was beside myself. I considered going into the basement for punishment by lizard but figured I'd wait until I heard some kind of news." She paused for a moment before continuing quickly, "I'm so happy you're all home and unscathed!"

"We live to see another day," Faith said as she plopped down on the armchair. "Doesn't mean you're off the hook though. Or them assholes up there either for that matter," she nodded her head up toward the heavens.

"I understand, as do they. They're prepared to fully cooperate with you. Whatever knowledge they have, they're going to give to you. They're busy trying to pinpoint a way to vanquish him without him being able to come back," Anya explained.

"Been thinkin' about that too," Faith said. "Let's face it though kids, sin and evil are inherent in us. Long as humans are runnin' around, we're juicin' up his big evil battery."

"Just for the record," Xander interrupted, "if anyone suggest taking out the human race so that we can beat this guy, I'm gonna have to vote against it."

"Me too," Andrew said, holding up one of his arms.

"Me three," Sara said. All eyes fell on her then and she looked taken aback. "Was it something I said?"

"No, just not used to havin' three people back me up here. Kinda messin with the group dynamic," she said and winked at the girl before addressing the group again. "No one's killing any humans, not on my watch. If we can't make him go away, we need to find a way to take away his power."

"Yes! Excellent! I like where your head is at!" Anya cheered. "Now how do we do that?"

"Fucked if I know," Faith shrugged. "Bet your ass we're gonna figure it out though."

And again, everyone's hope seemed to be lifted. All it took was a bit of successful teamwork and Faith back in the game to make them realize that they could really win this battle. They shared a few smiles and relaxed back for a few minutes, just taking it all in.

"Sar, what did your parents say when you told them you were in Las Vegas?" Faith asked, finally breaking the silence.

"They told me that I should have called and that I should be back in LA learning about my gifts so that I can come home and be safe."

"Smart folks. You wanna go an' see 'em before we ship your ass back to LA on a bus? That you're payin' for? With your own money and not with the Jedi mind games?"

Sara nodded and Xander stood up, grabbing his car keys from the hook at the door.

"I can take her on my way home," Xander offered, earning a grateful smile from Faith. "Ahn? You wanna come for the ride?"

Anya smiled happily and began to make her way to the door when she stopped and faced Faith.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't more forthcoming but it's difficult when the mean guys in white robes have you by your ghostly balls. I've already stood my ground and told them that I'll no longer keep things from you even if they think it's in our best interests. My loyalties will lie solely with you and I told them that if they don't like it, they can replace me."

Faith narrowed her eyes a little but she couldn't be too mad at Anya for simply following the orders of those that had sent her back to Earth.

"I'm still pissed, let's be clear on that. But I have a feelin' you wanna beat this bastard as much as I do. So go with Xander if you want, get your ghostly rocks off, whatever. But when it comes time to get down to business . . ."

". . . I'm your ghost," Anya finished for her with a pleased smile on her face.

When only Andrew and Faith were left in the house, Andrew excused himself to his bedroom. Despite the business of the day, he was still nursing a hangover that he believed only a James Bond movie marathon would cure.

Faith grabbed a can of Pepsi from the kitchen and came back into the living room, grabbing the remote control from the table before plopping down on the couch. The day had been long and interesting to say the least. They'd been suckered by the Powers That Be, found out the hard way, and still had an upward battle to fight.

Still, she couldn't help but feel optimistic. For the first time in a long time, she was feeling confident and sure. It was a good feeling. There were only two things that could make her night better – slaying and sex – but she was too damned tired to drag her ass out of the house to kill a few vamps.

**** Suggested listening: I Miss You by Incubus****

With that new confidence bolstering her up, she turned off the TV and climbed the stairs two at a time, making her way to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and locked it just in case, then proceeded to undress down to her panties and tee-shirt. She grabbed her cell phone from her pants pocket before tossing them over a chair in the corner and jumped up onto her comfortable bed, wriggling around until she was good and comfy. Clicking open the phone, she dialed an all-too-familiar number and waited as the line rang, chewing nervously on her thumbnail.

It wasn't sex but it'd have to do.

"_Hello?"_

"Bet ya didn't think I'd actually call back, did ya?"

She heard Buffy laugh quietly and it made her smile. Since when had things become so easy between them? She didn't know for sure but she'd be damned if she was gonna try to jinx it by thinking on it for too long.

"_Actually, I thought you would. Figured that dangling the possibility of phone sex in front of you was a sure fire way to keep you interested."_

"Know me better than I know myself," Faith joked. "Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Was kinda a crazy day."

"_I can imagine. Giles gave me the cliff notes. Is the little boy okay?" _

Faith shrugged even though Buffy couldn't see it. "Back with Mom."

"_And The Last?"_

"Still a douche."

Buffy laughed again and Faith tried to ignore the way it made her heart flutter and her stomach do somersaults.

"_But you'll beat him,"_ Buffy said confidently.

"That's the plan," Faith said just as surely. "I'm not wakin you up or anything am I?"

"_No, no. I got into bed a while ago but I haven't been able to sleep."_

"No?" Faith asked, smirking a little.

"_Nope. Feeling a little bit on edge,"_ Buffy said purposefully vague.

"Pretty sure I know something that could take the edge off."

"_Oh yeah? And what might that be?"_

"Me," Faith answered, her grin even bigger now.

The short silence on the other end of the line didn't scare Faith. This was definitely new territory for them but Buffy hadn't shied away when she'd brought it up earlier as a joke. She was pretty sure that was a sign of some kind and she wanted to see just how far they could take this thing that was between them, whatever it might be.

"_And how would you propose you'd do that?"_ Buffy asked, her flirty tone not lost on the brunette.

"You sure you wanna know, B?"

One last chance to back out. She only hoped Buffy wouldn't take it.

"_Well," _Buffy began and paused painfully long,_ "now you have my interest piqued. I kind of have to find out."_

Faith smiled – the kind of smile that she knew made Buffy take notice – and slid one of her hands down and rested it on the exposed skin of her stomach, just letting it sit there.

"I'd probably start by gettin' you naked," she began, waiting for some kind of response from Buffy. She heard the girl rustling around a little, softly grunting with effort. "You're not startin' without me are you?"

"_No, I'm . . . ungh . . . trying to take my clothes off."_ The material of her shirt scraped over the phone as she pulled it off over her head and tossed it over the edge of the bed where her panties had landed a moment before.

Faith looked down at her own panties and shirt and made quick work of ridding herself of them. And then there was silence again, both girls waiting for the other to say something. Anything. Faith cleared her throat quietly and chuckled just a little.

"B?"

"_Yeah?"_

"What are we doing?"

" _. . . I thought that was pretty clear,"_ Buffy said, puzzled.

"No, no, I get that," Faith laughed. "I just mean . . . what's going on here? I don't think this is something friends generally do." She paused. "Or do they?"

"_I can honestly say it's not something Willow and I ever tried,"_ Buffy laughed.

"So why me? Why now?"

Ugh! Who let those words out of her mouth? Now wasn't about talking, it was about hot phone sex! Who the hell had taken control away from her groin and given it to her stupid brain?

"_Faith, I don't . . . I don't have any answers for you. All I know is that . . . I feel . . ."_

And in classic bad timing, Faith's other line beeped and made the line click. She looked at the display and saw Camryn's name. Dammit! Why hadn't she called her back earlier when they got back to the house? Now the girl was going to worry until she knew that everyone was okay.

"Shit, B . . . hold that thought. It's Cam and I've gotta get rid of her quick. Two minutes, don't go anywhere!" She listened for a minute before hitting the button, putting Buffy on hold and answering Camryn's call. "Cam?"

"_Hey you. I take it everything worked out then?"_

"For the most part. The Last is back – or really, he never went away – but we're gonna find a way to take his power away."

"_And how're you gonna do that?"_

"I ain't got no fuckin clue. I'd get into it a bit more but . . . shit, worst timing ever Cam.. Raincheck on convo for tomorrow?"

"_Yeah, that's fine. Tell Buffy I said hi, Faith," _Camryn said easily, unable to help the small smirk that formed on her lips.

"Yeah, later." Faith eagerly clicked over to the other line and took a deep breath. "B?" When met with silence, she tried again. "Buffy?"

The only response this time was the sound of a dial tone.

Buffy had hung up on her.

"God dammit," she cursed to herself, clicking the phone shut and flicking it onto the bedside table.

She laid back on the pillows, grabbing the one from the left side of the bed and holding it against her chest. Sighing loudly she closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would take her soon. The cool pillow case licked at her naked warm skin as the scent of Buffy's shampoo from a few weeks back still managed to assail her senses.

It wasn't sex but it'd have to do.

_~Roll credits~_


	10. Episode 10: Vows

**Note:** Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing :) Just one episode left after this one; I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Previously on Walk The Line:

_Faith eagerly clicked over to the other line and took a deep breath. "B?" When met with silence, she tried again. "Buffy?"_

_The only response this time was the sound of a dial tone._

_Buffy had hung up on her._

"_God dammit," she cursed to herself, clicking the phone shut and flicking it onto the bedside table. _

_She laid back on the pillows, grabbing the one from the left side of the bed and holding it against her chest. Sighing loudly she closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would take her soon. The cool pillow case licked at her naked warm skin as the scent of Buffy's shampoo from a few weeks back still managed to assail her senses._

_It wasn't sex but it'd have to do._

* * *

**Episode 1.10****: Vows**

"I don't understand why this thing won't work," Anya complained, using her concentration skills to hold a small doll in her ghostly hands.

"Maybe because you don't know how to practice voodoo?" Andrew suggested, trying his best to keep out of her way as he put together his brand new Dyson vacuum.

"Oh, I practice it alright. I've been practicing it for two whole weeks now and this still doesn't work. Make a doll, put some fashionable little clothes on it, then stab it viciously and cause pain to someone you dislike. It all seems a lot easier in theory than in practice." She paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. "Besides, I have to do _something._ While I've been sitting around harassing you all, Spike was finding a way to become corporeal again. I have to do something truly excellent so I can bribe the Powers That Be to give me back my body."

And Andrew knew firsthand that Anya had been trying to go above and beyond the call of duty over the last few days. Since she'd found out about Spike, she was determined to be more helpful and overall invaluable.

To her, that meant creating a voodoo doll of The Last and poking him to death, apparently.

"You probably shouldn't keep trying if it doesn't work. Voodoo isn't something the layperson should meddle with," Andrew tried warning again.

"Well _ma__ybe_ if you'd let me use the doll I'd originally wanted this could have all been over and done with already and I could be able-bodied and having copious amounts of orgasms and winning a fortune at blackjack right now."

"At the same time?" he asked with a grimace, and then shook his head and decided to focus on something less _icky. _"I already told you, if I remove Darth Maul from his original packaging he's no longer a collector's item." When Anya began to protest, he held up his hand and stopped her from continuing. "I don't care how much he looks like The Last, the answer is still no. Now either make He-Man work or go and put him back in my bedroom where you found him."

Anya scoffed and continued to arrange the clothing on the doll in her hands, mumbling about pushy nerds ruining her fun. The doll was just about ready for a test run again; its new hair pinned to its head and a little smear of red on its cheek.

Andrew looked over casually and noticed that He-Man was no longer a striking blonde but a mousy brunette. What had she used to get that real hair to stick to his head? And . . . was that blood on his face? Poor He-Man, so helplessly violated. Andrew couldn't just stand by when things were about to go terribly wrong.

"Not to be a Debbie Downer but . . . where did you get the hair from? And the blood? Because I don't think The Last would stand still long enough for you to take samples from him. And also? I don't think he has hair."

"Well of course he doesn't," Anya answered huffily. "It just felt wrong, the doll having plastic blonde hair. Voodoo dolls have real hair. I simply had to make do with what I had around me."

Andrew was pretty sure he didn't have to ask but he did anyhow. "Well then whose hair is it?"

Anya's smile was maniacal as she pulled her finger back and flicked the doll in the arm, waiting to see what her test would yield. She didn't have to wait long; a loud howl sounded from the kitchen and Xander ran out clutching his upper bicep with his hand.

"I don't want to alarm everyone – or hey, maybe I do – but I think we may have a non-Anya poltergeist." He waited for a response from his friends but Anya was too busy fidgeting with the doll again and Andrew was looking in her direction, concern on his face.

"Anya, you can't use Xander's hair and blood. It associates the doll with him. I don't practice voodoo and even I know that much," Andrew said.

"Oh, settle down, booknerd. I've got it all figured out now," she said. She held the doll up and focused on it intently, "I declare you The Last."

She nodded in approval of her own cleverness and then she was yanking on the doll's leg excitedly. Xander dramatically fell to the ground, his right leg going out from underneath him. He writhed around uncontrollably as Anya gave the doll a few good shakes and pulls, ignoring him completely.

"Grown . . . man . . . spazzing . . . uncontrollably . . ." he stammered.

When Anya finally realized that Andrew had been right, he was already busy trying to take the doll away from her careless hands. She tried to slap his grabby hands away but her focus was spent on holding the doll and her ghostly hands went right through his. Xander continued to writhe around on the ground, calling out for someone to explain to him what was going on.

"Hey, let go!" Anya said, finally pulling the doll away from Andrew. "Now that I know how it works I'm going to use it for interesting and innovative sex games."

And then Andrew's hands were firmly at his sides and nowhere near the soon-to-be sexdoll. Xander's eyes widened comically as he was finally able to lift his head over the table and see what was going on.

A mini-Xander sexdoll in the hands of his ghostly ex-fiancée sex addict.

Xander gulped loudly. Things were about to get very interesting.

********************

The church parking lot was completely empty when Faith pulled into it. She still didn't feel right going there; churches and religion in general still freaked her out and made her uncomfortable. Fact of the matter was that Father Shannon had helped her though and it was the right thing to do to check in on him now and again and make sure that he was in good health after his concussion.

And if she was being completely honest with herself? It was kind of cool to talk to someone that wasn't a Scooby or a stripper that made her have naughty thoughts when all she wanted to focus on was her growing friendship with Buffy.

Well, that was if Buffy was still speaking to her after their last phone conversation.

Swinging her keys around her index finger as she walked through the parking lot and into the church, Faith entered the front doors and bypassed the holy water this time around. Funny thing about tradition? It was pretty easy to fall out of again.

She made her way back toward the sacristy where she was sure she'd find Father Shannon but stopped halfway down the aisle when she heard a cough from the confessional. It was a familiar cough so she had no problem walking up and knocking on the door.

"Room service," she said with a grin.

A moment later the door opened and Father Shannon poked his head out, a smile brightening his face when he saw who his visitor was.

"Room service would be wonderful right about now."

"How long you been in that box, padre?" Faith asked as he stepped out and stretched his weary muscles.

"Just about two hours. There's open confession this afternoon."

"Yeah, but couldn't ya like . . . I dunno, take a game in there with ya or something? Not exactly like people are breakin' down the doors to get in there."

They walked over to the pews and took a seat, Faith sitting in the row in front of Father Shannon, turned to the side with one knee on the bench so she could see him. He knew not to ask her into the confessional after the first time; Faith wasn't a religious person so she didn't have any sins to confess, as she put it.

He didn't mind; he was happy just to talk to and get to know the girl. Sometimes it was nice to simply be a friend instead of a priest.

"I don't mind the silence," he said with a shrug, the tiniest bit of an Irish accent escaping him. "It's good for the soul."

Faith studied him for a moment before a big smile appeared on her face.

"You totally sleep in there, don't you?"

Father Shannon's only response was a small grin of his own. Faith laughed aloud and an air of comfort settled around them.

"What brings you by today, Faith?" he asked in a friendly tone.

Faith's smile faltered just a little but she tried to keep a casual air around her. "Remember that bad guy we killed?" At Father Shannon's nod she continued, "He ain't so dead anymore."

"I see," he answered after a moment, looking down at his folded hands. "How can you know for certain?"

"People are still getting infected," Faith answered with a shrug. "And as much as I really appreciate what you did for us the last time around, I'm not here askin' for help. I know it didn't work so we're kinda back at square one."

Father Shannon nodded in understanding but decided to offer a bit of hope the only way he knew how. "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9."

Faith raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, well how about this one: 'Thou shall be frustrated as shit and have a mental breakdown before ya even figure out how to beat the bad guy.' That one's from the Book of Faith. It's pretty much the whole first chapter."

And Father Shannon couldn't help but chuckle at the girl, smiling as he studied her face.

"I don't think I've read that one."

"I'll send ya a copy, it's a real doozy."

Father Shannon took a deep breath and sat forward, his elbows resting on the back of the seat in front of him.

"Faith . . . I don't know much about you or what it is that you actually do -- and before you start -- I'm not asking for you to tell me. I know that you do good things; I can sense that. And like most good things, they don't always come easy. We have to fight for them and more often than not, we give in to our fears that we're going to fail."

Faith was silent for a few moments, deep in thought pondering his words.

"I'm not really afraid that I'm gonna fail. I'm just kinda stuck on the fact that I'm not good enough to get this done. This guy is like the penultimate evil right? Well dude, I've _been_ there. I walked on the dark side and got nice and comfy there. Times change, I changed, but really . . . I don't think there's enough good in me to beat the fucker." She winced then and looked up with an apologetic look on her face. "Uh, shit . . . sorry. I meant guy."

Father Shannon chuckled quietly at her correction but didn't let himself get distracted by her little slip up.

"There's a delicate balance in life, Faith. If sin is inherent in humans then so is good in equal amounts. There is sin in the world and there is also virtue. You don't have to believe in religion or God to see it. Your mistakes in the past remain in the past. You're doing good things now, and you will continue to do good things and you will persevere."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked quietly.

Father Shannon smiled at her then, a genuine smile. "Because I have faith."

Faith couldn't help but snort at that, despite his sincerity. Her name had long been subject to witty and non-witty puns, but for the first time it felt sincere. And it felt good having someone on her side who believed in her completely.

"So, you wanna offer up any tips on beating this guy? Cos really, I'm open to all suggestions," she joked, changing up the tone a little. Too much sincere mumbo jumbo made her itchy.

Father Shannon shrugged one shoulder and tilted his head to the side just a little bit.

"Balance the equation. He uses the seven deadly sins; you have to counter that. The seven virtues are a great place to start."

And Faith was raising her eyebrow again, looking like he'd just spoken to her in Japanese. Father Shannon could only laugh and continue explaining.

"The seven heavenly virtues: Faith, Hope, Love, Justice, Courage, Restraint, Prudence."

Faith thought about it for a moment before asking, "Can't I just like . . . stab him in the eye with a big fancy cross?"

"You could always try," he answered with a smile.

Sometimes there was just no getting through to people when it came to religious discussion; they had to figure it out on their own. In the meanwhile, he was just going to try to figure out a way to convince Faith not to steal the cross she was eyeing up on her way out.

********************

Faith was on her way back to the house when her cell phone rang. The silly ringtone Buffy had programmed in there on their fake date let her know that it could only be one person calling. And even though their last conversation had ended abruptly, she couldn't help but smile as she opened the phone and held it to her ear.

This was sure to be an interesting conversation.

"Hey you. What's up?" she asked casually.

"_My car insurance premium, probably," _Buffy replied, sounding a bit flustered.

"Shit, who'd you hit now, Crash Test Buffy?" Faith asked jokingly, not expecting the sigh Buffy gave her nor the answer that followed.

"_I swear up and down it wasn't my fault; that tractor trailer came out of nowhere. I literally mean that too. I didn't see him in the rearview mirror the whole time I was putting on my lip liner."_

Said so innocently, like putting on makeup while driving was perfectly normal and safe. Multi-tasking was not Buffy's forte especially while driving. She could barely handle the driving part alone even with her whole attention focused on it.

"Think it's time ya hang up that driver's license and switch to public transportation, B. Seriously. Are you okay at least?"

"_Yeah, but my car isn't. I'm stuck in a diner off the highway and I let my triple-A expire last month."_

"Want me to call a tow truck or Giles or somethin'?"

"_No, I already called a tow; they'll be here later to take it to a local shop. Think you could come and pick me up in the meanwhile though?"_

Faith raised her eyebrow at that. Sure she was willing to do pretty much anything for Buffy but hauling her ass all the way to LA to drive Little Miss Bumper Car back home when Giles could do it in five minutes was just kind of . . . well, ridiculous.

"Don't you think Giles is a bit closer? I mean, not that I won't come there but . . . you're gonna be waitin' for a while," Faith said and laughed.

"_I'm about an hour outside of Vegas. I was . . . coming to see you,"_ Buffy said after a moment, her voice small and a bit unsure. _"And to see how I can help," _she added the last part quickly.

Faith couldn't help but smile. She'd dealt with Angry Buffy before, as well as Sad Buffy, Happy Buffy, Butt-Kicking Buffy, and even Horny Buffy on one occasion.

Jealous Buffy was a whole new story.

"Gimme directions. I'll be there in a half hour."

********************

It was nearly an hour later in the middle of a dusty old diner off the highway when Faith was busy finishing off a large plate of French fries loaded with ketchup and a double-cheeseburger big enough to make a grown man's eyes water. Buffy was already finished with her more modest toasted chicken sandwich and could only sit and watch, amused, as Faith did what she did best: eat.

Or maybe it was second best. Or third best. Then again, Faith _did _eat pretty well the last time they'd . . . _bad thoughts!_

Biting on her lower lip to fight back the blush that was fighting its way to the surface, Buffy looked down to her plate and then back up to Faith. She tilted her head to the side and just watched the girl. And yeah, she knew that maybe she should feel like a creeper for staring at the brunette while she ate so contentedly but Buffy just couldn't help it. Whoever this new Faith was and whether she'd been buried under many layers even years back, Buffy just couldn't stop being amazed by her.

Yep, something was definitely wrong in Buffyville, Buffy mused. She wasn't quite sure what she was feeling but she knew she hadn't felt it since Angel, and even then it was something different than that.

Maybe being here again with Faith would help her figure out what it was.

"Thanks for the grub, B. That was wicked tasty," Faith said as she wiped her full lips with the white paper napkin her fork had been resting on.

"It's the least I could do," Buffy answered easily, a friendly smile on her face. "It's not like I intended to crash my car so I didn't really have a back-up plan. Thanks for coming through."

"Not a problem. But B? I think it's pretty obvious that you crashed on purpose just so I could swoop in and save the day," Faith teased.

Buffy held up in hands in mock surrender. "Yup, you've got me there, Faith. I purposely trashed the car Giles is still paying for just so I could get a little quality one-on-one Faith time. My nefarious plan is coming to fruition!"

"If you wanted a little quality Faith time all you had to do was ask," Faith said with a grin, the underlying meaning not lost on Buffy who merely gave her a sugary-sweet smile in return.

"Well, I kinda did . . . and then I was put on hold."

Faith winced a little at that, even though Buffy's tone had been playful. She wasn't used to screwing up, especially when it came to anything sexual, but she was pretty sure that her folly from that night would go down in infamy.

"Speaking of that," Faith began awkwardly, "I should probably apologize. It was stupid to answer the other line like that. Keep wonderin' why I did it and the only thing I can come up with is that I'm tryin' to sabotage myself. Totally not used to gettin' anything I want."

"You wanted it to happen then?" Buffy asked then nearly kicked herself for asking so bluntly. She wasn't even sure herself if she'd wanted it to happen!

"Duh," Faith said, a playful grin on her face before looking down at her now empty plate to hide her sudden case of bashfulness.

Luckily for them a busboy walked over with a big plastic tote and took their empty dishes, leaving them with only their arms and drink glasses on the table. They both awkwardly reached for their glasses, their fingertips brushing halfway across the table. Faith quickly pulled her hand back but Buffy grabbed her beverage and slid it back toward her. She pursed her lips and took a sip from the plastic white straw, her eyes anywhere but on Faith who was watching the simple act with a look of amazement on her face.

Buffy's lips sure were pretty. And pink. And just begging to be kissed.

Deciding that a change of subject was needed to break the almost awkward tension, Faith opted to make things a little bit more lighthearted.

"So you've been racking up the frequent flier miles lately," she began but quickly realized that it would lead to the same kind of conversation. "Uh, well not flier so much but…yunno. Driver. Whatever."

Buffy smiled and finished swallowing her Diet Coke before pushing the glass back to the center of the table. She let her hand linger there, her fingertips collecting the condensation from the sides of the glass.

"Well, it's not like I'm exactly missing out on anything back at home. I'm retired, Dawn is back in school, and Giles has forbid me from doing any further research until he can figure out a way to get cranberry juice stains out of ancient texts. I swear, you have one accident around him and you're forever banned from boring books." She paused and thought about it for a moment. "You know, come to think of it, that was probably my best accident ever." They shared a laugh and Buffy continued, "Besides, if I tell him I'm here on business the Council pays for my gas mileage."

"Ahh, so it's strictly business then," Faith said, the playful tone in her voice letting Buffy know that she wasn't bitter about it.

Trying to find something for her fidgeting hands to do, she reached out for her own drink glass and started playing with the cool drips of water on it like Buffy was busy doing.

"Well . . . it's _mostly_ about business," Buffy said, her gaze fixed on her glass. "I mean, there's a big bad . . ."

"Still retired, B," Faith reminded her with a wink even though Buffy didn't see it.

"I know. But I was thinking of a retirement hiatus. You know, just until The Last is gone and the world is safe again. And maybe when the annual threat of world annihilation is over, Giles and I can discuss a part-time slay gig. Just to keep me in the loop. It's awkward being loopless when all of your friends are loopy."

"Not sure your friends would like bein' called loopy," Faith joked.

"Well you didn't seem to mind."

Faith ignored the fact that Buffy had included her in her group of friends for a moment just so she could really get to the bottom of why she was really there.

"So it's definitely a business trip then."

"There may be some non-business stuff too," Buffy replied. A shy smile appeared on her face as her fingers left her glass and slowly crept closer to Faith's. A subtle gesture; just testing the waters.

"Yeah? Like what?" Faith asked, her fingers leaving her own glass and inching closer to Buffy's as well.

Gesture received and returned in kind; the water clear and perfect for a quick dip. Now if only they could get over that last hurdle; take that last step . . .

"Like . . . I was thinking that maybe you and I . . ." Buffy began, her shaky confidence growing more and more as their fingers finally touched and neither of them backed away. The moment didn't last long however. They pulled away like they'd been zapped by lightning when the waitress appeared at their table with their bill in hand.

"There anything else I can get ya, darlings?" she asked as she set their bill down on the table, oblivious to the moment she'd barged in on.

"No, thank you," Buffy replied, her voice just a little shaky as she tried to compose herself.

"Okay, have a great day, girls. Come back and see us again some time, 'kay?"

She left the table without any further ado, leaving a very flustered Buffy and Faith behind in her moment-wrecking wake.

"Saved by the bill," Faith said with a chuckle. Buffy began to say something but Faith just shook her head and smiled. "Another time, B. Come on, let's get back to Vegas and officially un-retire you."

And as much as Buffy wanted to finish the conversation, she knew that Faith was right. It'd have to wait for another time. She only hoped that now they knew they had to have a serious conversation, they wouldn't purposefully dance around and try to avoid it.

Sometimes it was really hard to break old habits.

********************

"Home sweet home," Faith said aloud as she pushed the newly fixed front door open, giving Xander's craftsmanship an appreciative once over. She walked over the threshold with one of Buffy's bags slung over her shoulder – the girl certainly had brought a lot of bags for such a casual trip – and stood aside so that Buffy could follow.

Buffy walked through the door and looked around with a smile on her face. It felt good to be back, but probably not as good as Faith felt having her back, especially after that almost-moment they'd shared at the diner.

Really, the inconvenient interruptions were getting really . . . _inconvenient._

"I'd say the place looks the same but well . . . that wall has been rebuilt and repainted and I'm pretty sure the door is new too."

"Damn. Thought Xan did a pretty bang-up job fixin' it too."

"Oh, he did. It's just that when you've had your house continually pummeled by the nasties and rebuilt more times than you could afford, you start to develop a keen eye for those kinds of things," Buffy pointed out.

"Pretty sure the upstairs is free from any massive rebuilds. Wanna go put your stuff in your room and see what defects you can spy?"

When had it gone from a guest room to Buffy's room, Faith asked herself and wondered if Buffy had thought the same thing. Instead she looked over and saw the girl chuckle at her and nod.

Phew, possible weird moment averted.

Buffy followed Faith up the stairs and to the room she'd stayed in last time. It looked exactly the same with the exception of the missing family photo she'd taken back to LA with her after her first visit. The photo had made the journey back to Vegas with her though and she promptly reached into her bag and placed it on the bedside table where she'd originally found it.

"There, now it's my room," she said, adjusting it slightly as she smiled at it. A few moments passed by and she finally turned and looked at Faith, still smiling. "So, what do we do now? This is your show; I'm just here to be helpful."

Faith shrugged and sighed loudly before flopping down onto the edge of the bed. She wished she knew what the next step was. The right answer was probably to research but they'd read every book over and over again and still they had been no help. Judging by the bag of books Giles had sent with Buffy though, she knew that they were probably meant to be going through them as well.

"Research," she finally said almost unwillingly, the word looking like it'd left a dirty taste in her mouth.

"Ugh, research," Buffy groaned, plopping down onto the edge of the bed next to Faith. "Could there _be_ anything more boring than that?"

"Depends. You ever hear Andrew recite an entire Star Wars movie?"

"Tell me he didn't."

"Oh, he did. Used funny voices too. I swear, B, you'd die laughing if you heard his Yoda."

Buffy shrugged, "Dying is overrated. Tried it twice, didn't like it."

Faith smiled at her and their gazes met, a definite moment passing between them. She couldn't help but look down at Buffy's pink lips again, wanting nothing more than to feel them on hers. She couldn't do that, though; not until Buffy made it perfectly clear that she wanted it too. And judging by her impromptu visit after their case of near-sex by phone, she was pretty sure that the feelings were at least quasi-mutual.

"You're gonna try to avoid that whole death thing this time around, right B? Pretty sure only cats are supposed to get nine lives, and besides; I kinda like having you around."

There. A little bit of honesty on the table. It could either go really well or very badly. Judging by the warm smile that graced Buffy's face, Faith guessed that it went over well.

"You do?" she asked quietly.

"Well, yeah," Faith said and shrugged like it was nothing. "Hot chick? Check. Superpowers? Check. Fun? Check. Don't get much better than that."

Faith didn't know when they'd gotten so close, nor did she realize when Buffy's hand had snuck into hers or when they'd interlaced their fingers, but it had all definitely happened. And the way Buffy was looking up at her all shy and sweet?

Definitely going over very well.

"Guess I'll just have to try extra hard to remain with the living," Buffy said quietly as they inched closer and closer towards one another, their faces mere inches from one another now.

Faith licked her lips in anticipation, ready to taste Buffy's kiss; ready to accept whatever the girl was offering. She could feel warm breath soft over her face and her body hummed with excitement. _This_ was how things were supposed to be. Sure they'd gotten off track once or twice before in the past but it was different now;_ they_ were different now. And they were finally ready to figure out whatever this thing was between them.

A shimmery chorus sounded in Faith's ears and for a moment she thought that maybe it was angels singing as she was only centimeters away from Buffy's parted lips. The sound of someone clearing her throat, however, clued her into the fact that it wasn't angels in her ears.

It was a devilish little ghost looking completely unsurprised at what she'd shimmered in on.

"Hello, Buffy. Welcome back. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Buffy and Faith slowly pulled back from their nearly-was kiss and simultaneously turned toward Anya. Faith looked annoyed while Buffy merely looked a bit let down. Were they ever going to get a minute alone to finally work their situation out?

"Thanks, Anya. It's good to be back," Buffy answered, her fingers still laced through Faith's and seemingly happy to stay their despite the intrusion.

Anya looked down at their hands and then up at Buffy and Faith, expecting some kind of reaction or even a general freak out, but when it never came she continued with her reason for being there.

"It's time to get into research mode. The clock is ticking and it's time to get motivated."

"Yeah, it's probably time to get down to it," Buffy said. She stood up from the bed and tugged Faith up with her by their still-joined hands. Offering her a flirty smile, she continued, "Help me get Giles' books from the car?"

"Books?" Anya interrupted. "We don't need books. We need to figure out what Spike did to get his body back! First we should call Angel and then we may need to commit a little Grand Theft Vampire. Who's with me!"

Her enthusiasm was completely lost on Buffy who looked just a bit surprised.

Oops. So she hadn't gotten the memo yet on Spike's recent bodyness. Faith cringed just a little bit; she guessed this just wasn't meant to happen.

But rather than letting go of her hand and running off to find Spike, Buffy surprised Faith by holding her hand just a little bit tighter. Faith looked down at them and then up at Buffy to find the girl looking at her with a smile on her face.

"Maybe we can find something on re-corporation while we're researching The Last. It would be good to have another solid fighter on our side. Besides . . . I'm sure we could do without the shimmery interruptions she's going to continue with until we agree to help her."

Giving Faith's hand a quick squeeze, Buffy finally let go of it and made her way out of the room and downstairs to fetch the books from Faith's truck. Faith merely stood there feeling a bit awestruck at Buffy's reaction. Had Buffy really just chosen to stay there with her rather than running off to enjoy Spike's new body?

"In case you're wondering, that was Buffy choosing you over Spike," Anya said.

Faith was silent for a moment as she took it all in. Buffy wasn't her girlfriend but the opportunity was definitely there now and Buffy seemed as ready as ever to dive in and take the plunge with her. Grinning widely, Faith threw her arms up in the air and spun around once while she cheered silently. When she'd finally stopped to collect herself, she looked over at Anya who was watching her, amused.

"And in case _you_ were wondering, that was my happy dance."

She strutted out of the room and down the hall, leaving a smiling Anya behind in her wake.

"Loving the enthusiasm!" she shouted after Faith, then did her own little awkward happy dance when she was safely alone. "I'm gonna get my body back!"

********************

"I'm never going to get my body back!"

All enthusiasm gone, Anya took to complaining about her situation rather than being useful in any sense of the word.

It was hours later and they'd made no headway with her body situation. The living room was filled with opened books and pads filled with notes on every table and on parts of the floor as well. Even Xander and Andrew were helping, buried just as deeply into the research as Buffy and Faith were.

"We're supposed to be researching _me_, not The Last," Anya continued. "Why have we given up on _my_ cause?"

"Because there's nothing about re-corporation in any of these books, hon," Xander offered.

"Yeah, sorry Ahn. We're gonna have to work on it another time when we can get some other resources. Besides, we're finally gettin' somewhere with The Last," Faith said.

And it was true; for the first time in what felt like ages, they were finally finding out some new things about their foe. Not all of it was great or incredibly useful information but every little tidbit counted for something.

"Where did you say Giles got these books?" Andrew asked as he copied some information from the book he was reading onto a notepad.

"From one of his otherworldly connections. A dimension jumper, I think," Buffy said. "The guy was able to smuggle some books through with him. Apparently his world had already experienced The Last."

"For real?" Faith asked. "How'd they beat him?"

"Didn't," Buffy replied grimly. "A bunch of people jumped dimensions before their world was taken over. Guess a few of them decided to document it."

"Good for us, bad for them," Faith said under her breath and buried herself back in the book she was reading.

While they'd been cheerfully optimistic during their research session with all of the new information, that latest little tidbit definitely dulled the mood. Hoping to keep the optimism floating, Xander sat forward on his chair and grabbed the notepad he'd been scribbling on, flipping it back to the first page.

"Maybe now would be a good time to compile our info, see what the bigger picture is starting to look like," he suggested.

It took a few moments for everyone to get back into a more positive place, but soon they all gathered around the coffee table with their pads in hand, ready to share their findings. Andrew decided to play secretary and collect all of the notes onto a fresh pad so everything was all in one place. He didn't even seem to mind when Faith made a few jokes about buying him a skirt and a typewriter.

"Okay, let's piece together the big scary puzzle. What did you guys come up with?" he asked.

"Well," Xander began, "it looks like he's getting stronger and scarier as time passes. This book says that people came up with a way to vanquish his essence – kinda like we did with the stinky herbs and the Latin mojo – but that he became resistant to it."

"That's probably why it used to work just fine and then when we tried it on Ryan's Ma it took a few tries," Faith said. "We thought the bastard was gone two weeks ago but he was just infecting more and more people and gettin' stronger and stronger the whole time."

"For what's it's worth, he probably would've kept getting stronger even if we'd known he was still alive and kicking," Andrew said.

Faith merely nodded and looked back down at her notepad, not wanting to let her remaining anger about that get the best of her. She never could quite control herself when she let her anger take over like that, and losing control was the last thing she needed right now. Not when they were finally getting somewhere with The Last.

Not when she was finally getting somewhere with Buffy.

She looked over at the blonde and found Buffy chewing lightly on the cap of her pink pen while pouring over her own notes. Despite Faith's best effort, she couldn't help but smile a little at the sight.

"What did you come up with, B?" she asked, making Buffy quickly look up and pull the pen from between her lips.

"Oh, umm . . ." she looked back down at her pad, covered with pink writing and doodles aplenty, "the amulet. That's where he collects the energy from the sin he infects people with. It was all swirly and dark when we saw him months back. I can't even imagine what it looks like now."

"I've got some info on the amulet too," Xander chimed in, eagerly flipping through his notepad until he found the right page. "It's most likely the source of his power. Without that energy, he's probably not half as scary as he is now. If we can get it away from him, we could probably fight him."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Faith asked. "Second ya get close to the fucker he turns into smoke. Even if we could get close enough to get the amulet – which we'd have to pry outta his chest anyhow – he'd probably turn to smoke before we could get our hands on it."

Once again, the optimism seemed to be slowly leaking from the room like someone had stuck a needle in an air mattress. They needed something more than dead ends and cases of other peoples' failures. Something solid that they could work with.

All gazes landed on Faith as her cell phone rang from the table. She silently prayed – yes, prayed – that it wasn't Camryn. No way did she need to explain that to Buffy right now. The caller ID revealed that it wasn't Camryn though. It wasn't, in fact, any number that she recognized. She opened up the phone and held it to her ear, waiting for the other person to speak.

"_You're on the right track but you're focusing on the wrong things."_

"Says who?" Faith asked with a frown.

"_Don't tell me you don't remember me, princess."_

Faith thought about it long and hard. It certainly wasn't Giles, and really, how many other people had her phone number? That accent was pretty familiar but had been a while since she'd heard it. Could it be . . .?

"Jil'hanesh?"

"_Good guess; just do me a favor and don't say it aloud again. I'll be banished to some kind of _infierno_ if The Powers find out I'm meddling, but what can I say? I've grown an affinity for your kind."_

"Yeah, well I hope ya got some kinda amazing plan up your sleeve cos even with all this new info we're still in the dark. We've got some serious issues here."

"_Honey, you don't have issues; you have the whole subscription."_

"You're tellin' me. Got any great advice?"

"_You've already been given a direction to start with from an invaluable ally. Why aren't you heeding his advice?"_

Faith thought about it long and hard, wondering exactly who he was talking about. She didn't have to wonder for long though; Jil'hanesh knew that she wasn't following along.

"_Your priest. He set you in the right direction but you dismissed his advice as religious propaganda and moved on. It's not about religion, princess; it's about the balance between good and bad, dark and light, sin and virtue."_

"You're right, it does sound like propaganda," she said flatly, ignoring the gazes from around the room.

"_The universe is founded on balance; that's a simple fact. He's a big vortex of evil . . . and he's winning. You want to stop him? Balance the equation."_

Faith chuckled despite herself and flopped back in her chair, completely at a loss.

"What am I supposed to do, _love_ him to death? _Hope_ he goes away? Fuck, I don't even know what _prudence_ is but I'm pretty sure it's gotta be something kinky and completely useless against his kind of power."

"_You can't use virtue as a weapon, but that doesn't matter; the most difficult part of the coming battle will not be a physical one anyhow. Virtue is inside of you whether you realize it's there or not. You need to have faith, princess. And stop rolling your eyes; listen to me on this. Sometimes faith isn't about religion, so stop getting your little atheist panties in a bunch and focus on good rather than on God."_

Faith stopped her eyes mid-roll and tilted her head to the side just a little.

"I'll do what I can. Can't promise it'll be worth anything but I won't go down without a fight. Oh, and one more thing: I ain't a princess."

She heard a teasing chuckle come from him before he replied, "_That's what you think, _princesa_. Buena suerte."_

The line went dead before Faith could say anything more. She clicked the phone shut after a minute and chuckled to herself. Well, at least this conversation with him hadn't gone as badly as the last.

"Well . . .?" Xander asked, sitting on the edge of his chair in anticipation.

"It was our old buddy Jil'hanesh." Suddenly remembering his request not to say his name aloud again, she winced and internally scolded herself. "Or, yunno . . . just some guy that liked calling me princess." She ignored the puzzled glares and continued, "Said we need to focus on balancing the equation. The Last is evil so we need to pile on the good. Not sure how we do that but I think it has to do with virtue."

"Virtue? Like, samurai honor?" Andrew asked, confused.

"Think more biblical, buddy. Faith, Hope, Love . . . blah blah blah. Ahn, what do the big guys upstairs have to say about all this?"

"They're surprisingly silent. Not that I'm not thankful for the lack of annoying beckoning but I feel like they should be giving you some kind of a sign here." She looked up toward the ceiling then and held out her arms pleadingly. "Hello? Is anybody listening? We could use some advice. And since we're asking favors here, I'd love to be a real girl again!"

It seemed they all waited with bated breath for some type of a reaction but after nearly a minute of awkward silence, Faith exhaled and shook her head with disgust.

"It's all crap. Pretty sure we're just chasing our tails with all this," she complained. "It's the only thing we've got though, so we gotta give it a try."

"Not the _only_ thing we've got," Andrew said eagerly as he flipped the page on his notepad. "He's not _completely_ invincible. It looks like he's momentarily vulnerable when he opens himself up to collect energy. We've got a window of opportunity to try to get to the amulet."

"Great, so we'll just sneak up on him when he's chillin' in his lair suckin' up some evil and, what . . .? Hug him to death?"

"I haven't exactly worked out the details yet," Andrew said, frowning just a little.

"Yeah, well maybe the answer to that will just fall into our laps in a nice neat package," Faith said sarcastically.

There was a loud knock on the front door then and everyone looked toward it but made no effort to get up. Was this the sign they were looking for? There was another loud knock, followed by,

"_I've got a package for Faith Lehane."_

Not wasting any time, Faith jumped up from the seat and hurried over to the door. She opened it to find not an otherworldly currier with good tidings but an anxious FEDEX man with a dirty shirt and a beat up package that looked like it had seen better days. It was post-marked from Los Angeles which pretty much sealed the deal that it was not, in fact, some kind of kickass gift from the Powers That Be.

Hastily signing her name, Faith flung the package onto the dining room table as she closed the door behind her. It traveled through Anya's ghostly body on its way to the table, making the ghost scoff with displeasure.

"Standing right here!" Anya waved her arms about, annoyed.

"Yeah, and not doing much else by the look of it," Faith said as she picked her notepad up and sat back down. "Make yourself useful and see what's in the box?"

Anya narrowed her eyes at Faith but swallowed her pride and walked over to the table, fumbling with the brown cardboard box to get it open. It was going to take a lot of concentration to do the job but she was determined to prove her use. If she had any hopes of getting her body back, she had to demonstrate that she was an invaluable member of Team Faith.

Apparently, that included more than just shimmering in on the girl when she was in the shower and offering to wash her back. A friendly gesture, sure, and one that sent Xander to his happy visual place every time it was brought up, but not the kind of deed that registered on the radar of the Powers That Be.

In fact, they'd told her more than once that it was a flagrant misuse of her powers and that she could be penalized for it but, hey . . . the visual rewards were just too plentiful in this case.

"You really should try to be nicer to her," Buffy said quietly, her chair closer to Faith's than it had been just minutes before. "She's trying really hard."

"I know," Faith said, glancing sidelong at Anya who was cursing under her breath as she tried to open the package. "I start acting all nice though and she knows that I'm doing it just to make her happy cos she's never gonna get her body back."

"That's probably true," Buffy said.

"Least I can do is make her feel like she's helping in some way. Gives her hope."

"And that's a good thing," Buffy replied, smiling at her now.

Faith smiled back and they locked eyes, finding themselves in a similar predicament that they had earlier. They couldn't seem to look away, nor did they want to. Had they not had an audience, Faith was sure she would've leapt out of her chair, pulled Buffy against her, and kissed the heck out of her.

As it was, though, they did have an audience, and it was definitely going to have to wait until another time.

"A-ha!" Anya cheered, pulling Buffy and Faith's attention from one another as all eyes looked in her direction.

The packing tape finally removed, Anya pulled back the flaps of the box . . . and was promptly thrown back against the nearest wall by a bright flash. Buffy and Faith were instantly on their feet and running to her aid, but not even their slayer speed could top Xander who was already at her side and pulling her up into his arms.

She was momentarily dazed but came to a few moments later to Xander's hand softly tapping her cheek and trying to get her to focus.

"Anya!" he was saying anxiously, trying not to yell despite his nerves. "Can you hear me?"

Anya moved languidly, her limbs feeling heavy and weighed down as she came to. She lifted her hand and held it to the back of her head where she'd hit the wall and was surprised to find it covered not in blood but in drywall plaster.

"I broke the wall," she said, craning her neck back to look at the damage.

"Forget about the wall; how's your head?" Xander asked anxiously.

Andrew was already checking out the box for any signs of where it came from or what exactly the bright flash had been.

"There's no card or anything inside. I can look into it, see if I can trace the return address."

"We can worry about that later, we need to make sure she's okay first, "Xander said quickly.

He was so busy fretting over her that he didn't realize that he was still holding her and that she hadn't slipped through his arms. And that she'd broken the wall. And that she had plaster in her hair, her very real and very soft hair that was currently slipping through his fingers like cornsilk.

"I think I'm freaking out," he said in wonder.

"I don't think you are, Xan," Faith said, poking Anya's arm simultaneously as Buffy did the same.

"Hey, hey! Hands off the merchandise!" Anya griped as she tried to stand upright again.

In a moment of no longer needed tradition, she reached out for Xander's hand for assistance. It wasn't until her hand was in his and being held tightly did she realize that she was being touched. In various places. And by various people.

She quickly stood on her own and put a little bit of distance between herself and the others who were busy gawking at her. Placing both of her hands on the back of a chair, she pulled it out from under the table. Satisfied, she kicked it over with her foot, hobbling a little when that long forgot pain kicked in.

"Oh, balls," she griped as she hobbled around.

That wasn't the end of her testing though. Spying a bottle of water on the table, she picked it up and quickly twisted off the cap, anxious to feel the cool liquid in her throat. She put the bottle to her lips and took several deep chugs, smiling as the coolsplash hit her stomach.

Using the back of her hand to wipe away the small droplets of water that had escaped the corner of her mouth, Anya turned her head and grinned as she prepared for her third test. She took a running leap and jumped up into Xander's arms, kissing him with all that she was worth.

The surprise of the action, though not unwelcomed, sent Xander fumbling backwards and almost into the very same spot Anya had landed just a minute before. The only thing that saved them from going through the wall and spilling out onto the front lawn was Faith and Buffy who simultaneously reached out and steadied the kissing duo.

"I'm real! I'm real!" Anya mumbled against Xander's lips.

He continued to stumble around as he vigorously kissed her back, not willing to let go of her again now that he finally had his arms around her. With a little bit of effort – and guidance from Faith – they ended up in her office with the door promptly shut behind them. It wasn't that Faith _wanted_ them to use her office for the sexual escapades that she was sure they were about to set out upon, but there was no way they were going to make it up the stairs to a guest room and she wasn't about to let them bump and grind on the living room sofa.

Dude. She liked to eat her breakfast on that thing.

"What just happened here?" Faith asked, moving back the hair that had fallen into her face.

"Think that the Powers decided to play nice and grant a good little ghost her wish," Buffy answered easily, picking up the chair that Anya had kicked over moments before.

"Yeah, maybe. Or maybe they just realized they don't have anything to offer in means of help and figured she could have her body back since we're all probably fucked anyhow."

Buffy stood up and put her hands on her hips. She shook her head in a mock scolding way and stepped closer to Faith, probably closer than was safe if they were trying to keep their cool around one another.

"Okay, Depresso Girl. Enough with the doom and gloom. Anya has her body back. We've made progress on research. I mean, we've learned more about The Last in the past four hours than we have in the past four _months_. We don't have a solid plan but we know the direction we have to go in. All in all, I'd say it's been a pretty good day, so I think it's about time we leave the pessimism at the door and have ourselves a little celebration."

Buffy was probably right, Faith thought. But with the ever-present threat of certain doom and the fact that they were still unprepared despite their best efforts, Faith felt like it was anything _but_ a time for celebration. Still, how could she resist Pep Talk Buffy, especially when the girl was looking at her so hopefully?

Letting the weight of the world slip from her shoulders for just a little while, Faith finally smiled and chucked a hunk of drywall back against the wall it had come from, sending several more showering down onto the hardwood floors.

"What kind of celebration?"

The office door came flying open then and Anya and Xander came running out hand in hand, a look of pure glee on their faces. Anya held up her hand for them to see a bent-up paperclip shaped into a crude ring adorning her finger.

"We're getting married!"

********************

"It's my wedding!"

The lime green wedding veil on Anya's head attracted almost as much attention as her loud shouts as they drove down the Strip in a stretch limousine. She was standing with the upper part of her body out of the sun roof while drinking directly from a bottle of chilled champagne. Xander popped up through the sunroof and joined her in her celebration.

"We're getting married!" he yelled excitedly when they came to a stop at a red light. A few people walking by on the street cheered them on and even the men on the corner handing out flyers for escorts stopped and looked at what the commotion was all about. "It's my wedding day!" he yelled again, his smile radiant as he watched Anya chug from the bottle. "I love my fiancé!"

Anya handed the bottle over to him, gasping for breath as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a little belch.

"I love champagne! I love drinking!" she whooped. "And this guy right here!"

She threw her arms around Xander's neck and started to kiss him passionately, the bottle of champagne long forgotten. The limousine took off as the light changed and the bottle slid off the top of the vehicle, shattering into a million pieces on the pavement below. The forward momentum sent Xander and Anya tumbling back down into the limo where they landed in a giggling heap. Buffy and Faith were busy trying to open up another bottle of champagne while Andrew tried to relay the good news to Giles over the phone. Xander and Anya were back to kissing again, oblivious to the people around them.

"This is the best day ever!" Anya exclaimed as she finally pulled back, looking so happy and radiant in her lime green dress.

Or maybe radioactive was a better word, but it was the best they could come up with on such short notice. They'd stopped in the first boutique they could find once the limo had picked them up and it was either the green disaster or a normal white dress which she'd immediately cringed at.

They'd already tried the whole deal with the white dress and it hadn't gone exactly as planned. Maybe it was time to think a little outside the box.

So the lime green dress won out in the end. Buffy had helped her get dressed in it in the dressing room at the boutique while Faith and Andrew tried to stuff Xander into one of Andrew's suits in the back of the limo. It was short, tight, and made him look like a James Bond reject, but none of that mattered. The only thing he cared about was that Anya was back, for real, and that he had to be with her forever this time around.

"So are we lookin' for any place in particular or are we just drivin' til we see neon wedding bells?" Faith asked.

"That would be up to my future wife," Xander said with a big grin, his hand holding tight to Anya's like he was afraid to let her go.

"This marriage is going to work out excellently if you learn to repeat that answer for every question," Anya said, her smile getting brighter every second. "My vote is for The Elvis Wedding Chapel. Priests are creepy."

"But a grown man dressing up as a dead dude isn't?" Faith asked. At Anya's glare, she held up her hands in mock surrender, "Okay, I'm obviously wrong. It'll be great. Viva Las Vegas."

They all held out their freshly filled champagne glasses and clinked them together before downing the bubbly liquid. Anya cheered happily, her usual snark gone. She had her body back and she was marrying the man she was always meant to be with. Life was good!

Andrew gave the driver their new destination and they were headed off down the strip towards the nearest Elvis Wedding Chapel. There were several of the same chapels littered throughout the Vegas area which gave everyone but Anya and Xander the impression that they were in for an interesting evening of pure tackiness.

In less than ten minutes they were in the parking lot of the chapel and Anya was doing her last minute primping with Buffy and an unwilling Faith's help. Xander was pacing alongside the limousine with Faith's cell phone pressed to his ear, trying to explain to Willow why he couldn't wait for her to get there to tie the knot.

"Wills, you're my best friend; of course I want you here! I can't wait any longer though. All of the time we wasted before, and then she was gone . . . I know. Yeah, I know. Of course I will. We'll get the best photo package there is. It'll make your secret Tina Fey photo collection look paltry in comparison. What? . . . no, I didn't mean it. Your Tina Fey photo collection is great, Wills. I promise. I . . ." his voice trailed off as Anya finally stepped out of the limousine looking oddly exquisite in lime green. "I have to go, Willow. Yeah, sure. I love you too."

He quickly flicked the phone closed and tossed it blindly over to Faith, his eyes never leaving Anya.

"You look beautiful," he told her as he took her hands in his.

They didn't pay any attention to their friends as they made their way into the chapel, laughing excitedly. Faith and Buffy were eying the chapel warily but Andrew couldn't get the wistful smile to leave his face.

"Isn't love awesome?" he asked before quickly following after Xander and Anya. Someone would need to help them pick their wedding package since the bride and groom to be were too busy making googily eyes at each other.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"I guess that depends. Are you thinking that we're about to walk into a scary and cheesy time warp?"

"Nah, I got past that one when they decided to come to this place. I'm thinkin' . . . I dunno. Maybe they're jumpin' into this a little too fast. Anya ain't even been corporeal for two hours and they're already gettin' hitched."

Buffy smiled and looked down at her feet before turning to face Faith while walking backwards toward the door of the chapel.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug, the soft smile never leaving her face. "I mean, after you've loved someone that long and you _finally_ have them after being separated by death and time and inconvenience? Maybe it's just me being a romantic but I think it's all pretty appropriate." She offered Faith one last dazzling smile before turning around and heading into the chapel, leaving the brunette standing there along and looking more than a little surprised.

The parallels in Buffy's little speech weren't lost on Faith; Buffy had been talking about Xander and Anya but she could've been talking about her history with Faith for what it was worth.

"Yeah, well . . . no way am I lettin' you sucker me into gettin' married by Elvis, B. Even I have standards."

Unable to fight the small smile that crept up onto her face, Faith finally made her way into the chapel. She was immediately greeted in the foyer by her friends as well as a few showgirls wearing huge blue feather hats and boas and a rather friendly looking Elvis impersonator who was busy getting down to details with Andrew.

"We're gonna take the Blue Hawaii package, but we don't want any of the plastic lei's . . ." Anya's loud cough interrupted him and Andrew sighed, "Okay, fine. Lei us. And we'll take the Hula Girls, not the Priscilla. And seeing as that we provided our own limousine transportation, I feel it's only fair that you provide the limousine transportation for our newlyweds to the airport." He looked over to Xander and Anya then, "You _are_ leaving to go on some kind of honeymoon, right?"

Xander and Anya just looked at each other and shrugged before looking back at Andrew.

"Hawaii?" Xander suggested.

Anya squealed excitedly and jumped into Xander's arms, "This is why I'm marrying this man!"

Andrew turned back to Elvis who held out his hand to shake to seal the deal. Before even one firm shake, they were all being whisked away into another room decorated with palm trees and flowers and a gaudy painting of a Hawaiian lagoon and sunset on the walls. A different Elvis was standing at the front of the room with a hula girl on either side of him.

Deciding against Anya walking down the aisle alone, Xander waited for his friends to take a seat before linking his arm through his bride's and walking down the short aisle with her. Elvis began singing 'Can't Help Falling in Love' and both Buffy and Andrew dissolved into puddles of gooey soppy messes. Faith watched them with an eyebrow raised as she handed them both tissues.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in wedded matrimony. If anyone has any objections, please say . . ." Elvis gyrated his hips and struck a pose, "uh-huh."

Faith rolled her eyes and chuckled but said nothing. How could she? Xander and Anya were obviously crazy in love and this was what they wanted. She was just happy to be a part of their celebration.

Elvis continued with the ceremony and Faith watched on with a small smile on her face, her fingers interlaced with Buffy's.

Maybe this wedding crap wasn't so bad after all.

********************

The ceremony was over, the paperwork was signed, and Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Lavelle Harris were in the limousine and on their way to the airport. They stood up through the sunroof again and waved at their friends as the limo pulled away from the chapel.

"You realize we're deserted here now, right?" Faith said to Buffy and Andrew through her smile, her eyes not leaving the happy couple as they sped away.

"Yup."

"Uh-huh."

When the limo was safely out of sight, Faith lowered her arm and looked up and down the street, trying to figure out some kind of plan of action. She was more than happy to spend a bit of time with Buffy. In fact, she was looking forward to it. She just hoped Andrew didn't take offense when she asked him to scram for the night. Possibly for a few days. Heck, maybe he could just crash at Xander's until the newlyweds got back from their honeymoon.

"We can take a cab," Buffy suggested.

"Yeah, I guess," Faith said sounding a bit disappointed.

No way did she want to squish in the back seat between Buffy and Andrew. That meant she couldn't tell him to scram cos Buffy would be right there listening.

"Actually," Andrew began, "you guys can get a cab. It's a nice night and I have a few nights credit comped at Excalibur. I think I'm going to head over there."

"Really?"

Faith tried her best not to jump around happily. Could it be possible that Andrew was reading her mind? If so, he should probably be blushing right about now cos Faith was thinking about all kinds of naughty things she was hoping might happen between her and Buffy later that night.

If that's what Buffy wanted, anyhow. Faith still wasn't sure just how far Buffy wanted to take this thing. Sure, the hand-holding and smiles and glances were nice, but something had to give eventually.

"Yeah. It'll be nice to get out of the house for a while," Andrew replied, a knowing smile on his face. "Call me if you need me but I don't expect to hear from you for a few days."

He looked at Faith, then at Buffy, then back at Faith again before smiling to himself and walking away down the sidewalk towards the main section of the strip. He didn't need to read Faith's mind; he knew what was going on between the two of them, and no way did he want to come between that.

"Didn't see that coming," Buffy said, earning a chuckle from Faith as they watched him disappear down the sidewalk. "Did you still want to get a cab?"

She hiked her thumb over her shoulder toward the general traffic of the strip but Faith was too busy looking at the lot next door. She could tell by the smile that crept up on Faith's lips that the girl was plotting or scheming; possibly both at the same time. Following Faith's gaze, Buffy's eyes widened just a little.

"What d'ya say? You up for it, B?"

Buffy audibly gulped but there was no way that she could let Faith see her apprehension. Instead she took a deep breath and nodded confidently.

"Let's do it."

********************

The motorcycle roared loudly down the darkened desert highway, the small headlight and the stars in the sky the only illumination for miles around. Buffy and Faith had ditched their helmets as soon as they were clear of the lights of the city, opting instead to let the desert air blow through their hair.

Buffy was behind Faith with her arms wrapped around her waist, not because it made her feel close to the girl but rather because it turned out that Faith was a bit of a daredevil on the bike. She took turns hard and fast and the speed limit was merely a guideline, not something to be followed.

"You know, I'm perfectly capable of driving this thing," Buffy yelled over Faith's shoulder.

"Not according to the rental place, B," Faith shouted back over the sound of the engine and the wind. "You can barely get car insurance with all the accidents you've racked up. Forget rental insurance! You're strictly backseat driving."

"I can think of worse places to be," Buffy shouted and noticeably tightened her arms around Faith's waist and rested her chin on her shoulder.

Faith grinned and gave the bike a little more gas, sending them flying off into the night. They didn't know where they were going or how long they'd been riding but neither girl seemed to mind. The cool desert night air licked at their skin, making their bodies feel that much warmer against one another.

Maybe they should've been out drinking and dancing like normal girls. They weren't normal girls though; never were and never would be. They'd seen things, done things other people would never have thought imaginable. Sometimes an escape like this into the unknown with nothing but some good company was exactly what they needed in their lives.

Dancing could come later. Drinking could come later. Now was about peace and quiet and a place with no interruptions; a place where they could just _be_.

They eventually reached a stretch of highway that was practically deserted and home to one of the most beautiful and picturesque skies they'd ever seen. Thousands upon thousands of bright stars shimmered in the heavens making the night sky look almost lighter than its usual pitch black. The canyon walls which normally looked red when the sun was out were nearly black and blending perfectly into the skies above them.

Faith slowed the bike down and eventually stopped along the side of the road, wanting to take some time to just take it all in. She revved the engine once or twice before killing it off. The keys were left in the ignition though; there was no way she wanted to risk dropping them in the pitch black of the desert and getting stuck out there until first light.

"Wow," Buffy said from behind her, her eyes fixed on the same spot in the sky as Faith's.

"Been livin' here for months now and this is the first time I'm seein' all this," Faith said.

"There should be a tent out there somewhere," Buffy pointed to a vague place before them underneath the starry blanket above, "where people can lay back and just . . . bask."

"Camping in the desert? Never knew you were one of those corny romantics, B," Faith joked. Buffy pinched her side and she laughed a little bit more.

"What can I say? Walks on the beach, picnics at the park, late night motorcycle rides through the desert; I'm a fan of it all."

Faith's smile became a little bit softer then, much less confident and much more nervous. Buffy's arms were still around her waist and didn't seem to be budging. Not that Faith was complaining, but she wasn't sure if that was her sign to push for more or if it was just Buffy being all wistful and romantic in general.

A few moments of silence passed as they stared out at the stars, both girls waiting for something, anything, but too afraid to take the plunge. They'd already had their almost-moments and near-kisses; why was it so hard to have one of those moments now that it was finally an appropriate time?

Maybe they were both too nervous because they knew that this time there would be no interruption to save them.

Faith steadied herself and the bike as she felt Buffy wriggling around behind her. Suddenly the girl's leg was around Faith's side, then around her front as Buffy maneuvered from sitting behind Faith to sitting in front of her, face to face. Faith looked a little taken aback by the bold move but she wasn't complaining. Especially not with the way Buffy was smiling at her all soft and shy now.

"Hi."

"Hey," Faith said just as softly.

"So," Buffy began, "I've been waiting all night for you to make some kind of a move on me, but you haven't, so here I am. And . . . hi."

Faith laughed quietly, one of her hands finding Buffy's in the space between them.

"Sorry about that. I've just been tryin' to read ya B and . . . Christ, it's like tryin' to figure out hieroglyphics or something. Didn't wanna blow it."

"Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore because here I am, first-moving and feeling good. It's new territory but new territory is good," Buffy said nervously. "I'm like Lewis and Clark. They were all about new territory. And I mean, they weren't so sure where they were going but they had Sacajawea to guide them. You're like my Sacajawea, but less Native American and, well . . . on a motorcycle. But that's not the point. The point is . . ."

Buffy continued to babble on, each word making her look less and less sure of herself but impossibly cuter with every syllable. It was impossible for Faith to sit there and watch the girl suffer any longer in her awkwardness.

". . . and I mean, I don't know when it happened because I can barely keep track of the days of the week let alone my feelings, but I really like you, Faith, and I think . . ."

"Buffy?"

"Hmm?"

And then Faith's lips were on hers, soft yet insistent, and Buffy couldn't do anything but kiss her back just as enthusiastically. Buffy's arms immediately wrapped over Faith shoulders while Faith's hands wandered over Buffy's hips and finally to her back, slipping underneath the fabric of her shirt to feel her warm skin.

Buffy sighed into Faith's kiss, completely overwhelmed by everything she was feeling. Everything about the kiss felt right, from the kissing itself to Faith's hands on her skin and the way she felt herself being pushed back a little so she was resting back against the front of the bike.

[_In Los Angeles, Sara awoke with a start, a thin sheen of sweat covering her body. She immediately sat up, her bright blue eyes wide with fear in the moonlight shining through her bedroom window.]_

True to form, Faith's cell phone began to ring from within her jacket pocket. Both girls groaned aloud and pulled back, resting their foreheads against one another. They were breathing hard and fast and couldn't _believe_ they'd come all the way out to the desert to be alone and _still_ managed to get disturbed!

Buffy grinned and reached into Faith's pocket. Before Faith could stop her, she grabbed the phone and threw it out into the darkness of the night, then pulled Faith back against her for another kiss.

Faith chuckled against her lips and kissed her a bit deeper this time, earning a soft moan from the girl before resting her forehead against hers again.

"That coulda been important," Faith teased, her hands sliding from Buffy's back, around her sides and finally over her stomach with her hands still under her shirt.

"I think getting felt up is a bit more important at the moment," Buffy breathed against her lips, trying to catch them in another kiss. The phone stopped ringing and Buffy smiled victoriously. "See? Obviously not too important."

They began to kiss again and Faith let her hands roam up over Buffy's bra-covered breasts. Buffy began to arch into her hands and Faith felt like the kid at the carnival that finally won the big stuffed teddy bear.

Dude, the teddy bear had a fuckin' _great_ rack!

Sure enough, the phone started ringing again and Faith looked out into the desert, seeing its faint glow off in the distance.

"Let's make a deal," Faith said, pulling back a little. "I go get my phone, tell whoever's callin' to piss off, then we, uhh . . . we get outta here; head back to mine."

Buffy looked like she was thinking about it for a moment before she nodded and reluctantly unwrapped her arms from over Faith's shoulders. Faith grinned and gave her a quick kiss on her lips before getting up from the motorcycle and stumbling out into the dark to fetch her phone.

[_Sara gasped, her breath coming much quicker now. "No!" she said aloud._]

It didn't take very long for Faith to find the phone half buried in the loose dirt. She bent down to pick it up and used her thumb to brush the dust off the display. The number was familiar . . . Jil'hanesh?

She stood up straight and when she did, she found herself looking directly into blood red eyes.

[_Red eyes._]

She made a move to turn and run but the thick black smoke had already surrounded her, perfectly camouflaged by the night around them. In an instant the smoke began to swirl and enter her through her eyes, nose, ears and mouth, choking down the warning that she tried to yell to Buffy.

She fell to the ground and stayed there only for a moment before standing up and coming face to face with The Last again. Her eyes were as black as the smoke that infected her.

[_Black eyes._]

"Get to work, my baby. I've been waiting for you," The Last drawled, a content smile upon his face.

Faith didn't say anything; she merely turned around and began to make her way back toward the motorcycle.

Buffy was still sitting on it the wrong way when Faith reached her. The blonde looked up at her and smiled, fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket.

"Sorry about that. Sometimes I get a bit impulsive," Buffy said sheepishly.

She looked up at Faith and didn't see until it was too late that her eyes were black like the night sky; and it was definitely too late to defend herself from the punch that caught her under her jaw and sent her flying off the bike and into the desert darkness.

Faith walked the few steps over and stood above her, sneering in an almost feral way down at the unconscious girl.

[_Oblivion._]

_~Roll Credits~_


	11. Episode 11: Invictus

**Note:** And we reach the end! Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed :) A second season (and a hidden 12th episode) will happen at some point in the future but I'm gonna finish up some other stories first. Thanks again for the continued support and feedback!

* * *

_Previously on Walk The Line__:_

"_Get to work, my baby. I've been waiting for you," The Last drawled, a content smile upon his face._

_Faith didn't say anything; she merely turned around and began to make her way back toward the motorcycle._

_Buffy was still sitting on it the wrong way when Faith reached her. The blonde looked up at her and smiled, fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket._

"_Sorry about that. Sometimes I get a bit impulsive," Buffy said sheepishly. _

_She looked up at Faith and didn't see until it was too late that her eyes were black like the night sky; and it was definitely too late to defend herself from the punch that caught her under her jaw and sent her flying off the bike and into the desert darkness._

_Faith walked the few steps over and stood above her, sneering in an almost feral way down at the unconscious girl. _

_[Oblivion.]_

* * *

**Episode 1.11: Invictus**

****(Suggested Listening: Sober by Tool)****

Faith pushed the toe of her boot against Buffy's leg, satisfied when the girl's limp body didn't react to the shove. She squatted down and more closely inspected her, looking her up and down from head to toe. Whatever she'd felt for the girl only minutes before was replaced with anger and hate and rage.

Wrath. The most deadliest sin of them all.

Something was stirring deep inside of her. It wasn't the need to protect or envy or love; it was the need to _hurt_. She wanted to tear the girl down to her level and then push her down some more just because she could. Faith was faster, stronger, _better, _and she was going to show Buffy that. It'd be a lesson that Buffy wouldn't soon forget.

"Well what am I gonna do with ya now, B? Killin' ya here would just be so . . . _unsatisfying_," Faith purred.

The Last stepped forward so that he was looking down over her shoulder, an arrogant smile on his face. His plan was finally coming to a head. It would only be hours before Faith committed her final act of wrath and he could collect her energy; the last bit of power he needed to complete his job and absorb the energy of the imploding world.

He just couldn't believe how easy it finally was in the end. What took him years in other dimensions had only taken him months this time around. Maybe this dimension was a little bit more naughty and corrupt than the others. Maybe Las Vegas was the prefect place to plan his assault.

Or maybe having a thorn in his side like Faith had just spurned him on to work harder and faster than ever.

Beating the hero had never felt so good.

"There's an abandoned service shack four miles from here. Take her there. Have a little fun. Be naughty before you put that pitiful thing out of her misery."

Despite the fact that she'd seen and interacted with him before, Faith didn't even know that The Last was there with her. The magic he used cloaked his presence and let him act as an unseen persuasive force. She was merely an oblivious little puppet to an evil and sadistic puppet master.

"How 'bout I tie you to the bike, drag you to a nice empty building I saw a few miles from here? That'd be good fun," Faith crooned, wrapping Buffy's long blonde hair around her fist and tugging it abruptly.

The Last rolled his eyes and sighed.

"No, you _idiot_. That would most certainly kill her and we need her to hang around a while longer." The desert silence was broken by the sound of a car approaching down the highway. Spotting the vehicle off in the distance, he grinned happily. "The car; you're gonna need it, honey."

Faith stood up as if on cue, her eyes scanning the dark horizon for the car she somehow knew was coming. Seeing its headlights off in the distance and quickly approaching, she began to make her way to the road but not before giving Buffy a hard kick in the side. A sickening crunch of ribs breaking sounded through the air, making Faith smile a little bit bigger, a little bit crueler.

Stopping in the middle of the road facing the car, Faith stood there even as the vehicle got closer with no signs of slowing down. When the driver finally saw her dark form against the dark landscape, he slammed on his brakes making the tires screech loudly on the asphalt. The car stopped less than a meter from Faith though she didn't even flinch in the slightest bit.

"Are you fucking crazy?" the man yelled as he hopped out of the car and checked to make sure that it was okay before eyeing up Faith. "What the fuck are you doin' standing in the middle of the fucking desert at night, you crazy bitch?"

Faith's lips curled up into a sneer as he got into her personal space, trying to intimidate her. Faster than he could react, she reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tossed him over to the side of the road and directly into the motorcycle that was still parked there. He groaned loudly as the bike fell over atop him and began to spill fuel but he was unable to move under its weight with the injuries he'd sustained.

Faith watched him struggle for a few moments, taking pleasure in his groans of pain. The more he cursed at her, the better she felt. Something caught the corner of her eye though and she turned her head to the side, smiling when she realized what it was.

Able to see just Buffy's shoes in the narrow beam from the headlights, she walked over to the girl and squatted down, grinning again.

"Giddyup, sweetheart."

She grabbed Buffy's hands and pulled her up into a sitting position before easily lifting her up and over her shoulder. Ignoring the girls' injuries and the fact that carrying her like that could send one of her broken ribs right through one of her lungs, Faith carried her over to the car, giving her ass a hard slap on the way. She tossed her into the back seat none too gently and closed the door before slipping down into the driver's seat and making herself at home.

Noticing a pack of opened Marlboros on the passenger seat, she pushed the plunger on the car's lighter and let it heat up while she fished one of the cigarettes from the pack and placed it between her full lips. It wasn't long before the lighter popped out and she brought it to the tip of the cigarette, inhaling deeply and letting the smoke fill her lungs.

"That's my car, you cunt!" the man groaned angrily as he struggled to push the bike off his injured body.

When Faith exhaled the cigarette smoke, a plume of black exited her mouth instead of the usual white. It made its way out of the car and into the struggling man who instantly lay back down and relaxed like he hadn't a care in the world.

_Sloth._

"Thanks for the lift, buddy," Faith said around the dangling cigarette.

She put the car into drive and began to pull away . . . but not before tossing the lighter out of the opened passenger window and into the fuel pooling around the man. It ignited in a blue and orange blaze which Faith watched in the rearview mirror as she drove away, his screams of pain fading into the dark desert night.

********************

****(Suggested listening: Knife Going In by Tegan and Sara)****

Sara was nearly out of breath by the time she'd made it across the facility from slayer sleeping quarters to staff sleeping quarters. She wasn't exactly sure which room served as Giles' temporary home while research was in high gear and she'd already been warned about using her powers for convenience sake but there was no way she was going to try dealing with the housing directory when she needed to speak to him _now_.

Standing at the end of a long and narrow corridor, she focused on some far off place in the darkness and began to walk with her arms spread out so that her fingertips touched the walls on either side of her. Her lips quietly mouthed the names of the occupants of each room she passed until she finally found the one she was looking for.

Quickly facing the door in question, she knocked three times and waited for some sign of life on the other side. When a few moments passed and she still heard nothing, she knocked again, louder this time.

"Mr. Giles, it's Sara . . . please open up." Again she waited but received no response. "Please, Mr. Giles . . . I don't know what to do."

"Sara?" Came a voice from off to the side.

She quickly turned to see Giles standing down the hall, bathrobe on with a book tucked under one arm and teacup in hand. She sighed with relief when she realized who it was through the darkness.

"What is it?" he asked as he quickly approached, stopping to set the book and cup down on the ground.

"It's Faith. I saw it but I didn't think . . . I thought that I was wrong. I hoped I was wrong. I thought she would fight and it wouldn't happen . . ."

"What do you mean, 'it's Faith'? Calm down and tell me what's happening. What did you see?" Giles asked, putting his hands on the nearly-frantic girl's arms to steady her.

He guided her down the hall and into a study area littered with books and white boards, all filled with notes about The Last. This had been their hub of operations since they'd outgrown Giles' apartment. Day after day they pored over every text and scroll they could get their hands on, but even with the additional help of some of the younger slayers, they'd barely found any viable information. Their lack of progress had taken an emotional toll on Giles who made it his personal mission to attain help, even if it meant moving to the shared dormitories and sleeping only a few hours every night.

After being led to one of the many leather chairs in the study, Sara collected herself before looking up and noticing one of the white boards just off to her side. It read, _'Time is still on our side; he has yet to make his final move.'_

She took a deep breath and pointed at it, then met Giles' anxious gaze.

"Checkmate."

********************

The room was bustling with activity as slayers were woken from their sleep and told to suit up. A fight was coming - no, the fight was here - and they needed to be ready. They weren't sure where they were going to or how they were getting there but they knew better than to question Giles when he was in preparation mode.

Giles had a phone to his ear and was busy trying to reach Willow while Sara was trying to contact Xander and Andrew to no avail.

"Yes, I understand that Willow is on a vision quest but her talents are needed here." He paused as Serena from the coven tried to explain Willow's absence and inability to communicate. "A different plane of existence? How is that even possible? She was just in Los Angeles a few hours ago . . . Well, perhaps you could interrupt her so that she could . . . ahh, I see. If you interrupt her, her body will remain here but her mind will forever be trapped there. Yes, I suppose that's good reason to leave her be. If she wakes you'll tell her I called? Yes, thank you."

He quickly hung up the phone and looked over to Sara who still had a cell phone pressed to her ear.

"I can't reach either of them," she began without being asked. "Xander and Anya are probably still on their flight and Andrew doesn't seem to be getting reception in the casino."

"You're sure that's where he is? How do we know that he hasn't been . . ." Giles trailed off, opting not to voice a concern that he was sure everyone else probably thought at the same moment.

"I see him playing games and having fun. Probably hasn't even checked his phone for missed calls."

Giles looked over to Dawn who was looking pretty frantic at this point. She'd insisted on coming down and helping though, so he figured that giving her a few simple tasks would help distract her a little.

"I've already called the casino," she volunteered. "They have security looking for him but it's a pretty big place and they're at full capacity since that computer convention came to town. They told me not to get my hopes up but that they'd call if they find him."

"What about Angel? Has he heard anything from his sources?"

"They're looking into it but the crazy thing about sharing a bed with the bad guys? They don't like to tell you when evil is winning. They tuck you in and make you comfy and when you least expect it, they steal the blankets. Pretty much sucks that we've both lost our connection to the Powers That Be. We're flying completely blind here."

"I concur," Giles said, his voice low and tired. "Vi? How many slayers are prepared to leave?"

"Twelve, including myself," Vi replied, stepping forward as she awkwardly wrestled to get her belt on over her slayer gear. "We're not really sure which weapons to pack though. How do you fight a demon made of smoke? I mean, I'm sure we can distract him for a while – and Faith, too, if she's all grr like you said she is. But we don't know how to kill The Last or even physically hurt him, and no one wants to even think about having to kill Faith. I don't think any of us could do that knowing that she's only having rogue-slayer flashbacks because she's infected."

Giles took a deep breath in through his nose and crossed his arms over his chest. It was all too much. They still didn't know exactly how to kill The Last and now his two best fighters were out of the game, not to mention he still didn't know what Buffy's current state was. He hung his head and sighed loudly, closing his eyes.

"You're right. I don't know what I was thinking. We can't possibly beat him with what little we know and just a dozen slayers."

"Make that a baker's dozen," came a voice as someone entered the bustling room. Everyone looked up to find Kennedy decked out in full slayer gear, revved up and ready to go.

"Kennedy, thank God. Is Willow with you?" Giles asked, his voice hopeful.

"Sorry jeeves, she's off doing some kinda weird Wicca mind trip."

"But she was here just hours ago and was ready to leave at a moment's notice to attend Xander's wedding. How far could she have gone?"

"Pretty sure she's locked away somewhere in your mother country, courtesy of the coven. Figured that since we had a bit of down time from The Last it was a good time to try to harness some magic, center her chi, spank her inner Wicca; yunno how it goes. Brush up now, beat the baddie later."

"I'm afraid that doesn't help our situation much," he said, defeated.

"Yeah but she couldn't have known that. She did what she thought was right and so did I. Knew she might be tied up there for a while and no way was I leavin' the country again when there's some kinda gnarly apocalypse on the horizon so I stayed behind."

Giles sat down in one of the leather chairs and slouched – actually slouched! – down in defeat.

"Again, I'm afraid that doesn't help our situation."

"Maybe not, but buck up buttercup. I got the skinny on the sitch from the girls and we're gonna go in and do what we can. If we're goin' down, it's gonna be in a blaze of glory and not sittin' here with our tail between our legs. Besides . . . Faith would do the same if any of us got into trouble and you know it."

Giles looked at her long and hard for several moments before finally nodding his assent. Truthfully, Kennedy would've gone to Las Vegas with or without his permission and he knew that. At least this way, he was sure that she wasn't going in completely alone.

"Take one of our phones. We'll be in contact shortly to try to give you an exact location if Sara can pinpoint one."

Kennedy nodded in response before making eye contact with Vi. Both girls quickly made their way out of the room to gather the other slayers who were anxiously getting ready. Giles felt like he was sending them in to certain death even though that was the fate of the world as they knew it if The Last succeeded. They were going to need some kind of miracle to pull this off.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to think about having the coven activate the inter-dimensional safe-houses we've put on standby. We can get the both of you to safety in the event that this apocalypse comes to fruition. I'll send anyone else we can fit in."

He looked over to find both Dawn and Sara looking at him with wide eyes.

"I can't leave without Buffy," Dawn said, shaking her head.

"I can't go either," Sara said. "I'm supposed to stay here. I know I am."

Giles regarded them both, taking in their sincerity and determination. Neither one of the girls were about to give up so easily. Not when people they cared about were involved, and not when their very existence was threatened. Hiding away only made The Last's job easier and there was no way they would let that happen.

Giles would still set up the safe-houses for the others, but Dawn and Sara were staying until the bitter end, and so was he.

"Well, I suppose that leaves the three of us to try to figure this out." There was a long drawn out pause before he sat up straight and continued, "Shall I put on some tea?"

********************

****(Suggested listening: Change by the Deftones)****

Faith took one last pull from her cigarette before tossing it out into the desert air, watching the orange embers flicker and eventually burn out on the dusty ground. She bent down near the metal-framed building and picked up several coils of thick rope, resting them over her shoulder as she finally made her way back inside the dimly lit warehouse.

Buffy lay unconscious still on the middle of the concrete floor, oblivious to everything that had gone on since she'd been knocked out. When it seemed like she was coming to at one point, Faith gave her a solid right hook to the side of her head which explained the now dried trickle of blood at the corner of her swollen lips. She'd drifted off into la-la-land again and still hadn't showed any signs of consciousness.

Faith approached the sleeping girl with the ropes slung over one shoulder and an old wooden chair in her other hand, her boots scraping on the layer of dust and debris that months of abandonment had left on the floor. She placed the chair down beside the girl and dropped the ropes right beside it, barely missing Buffy's head with them.

Without warning she grabbed Buffy by her upper arms and effortlessly lifted her up and onto the chair. Buffy flopped around like a ragdoll and would have fallen right back onto the dirty floor had Faith not held her there with a strong arm against her shoulders.

"Sit pretty, B. Good girls don't slouch."

She took the time to adjust Buffy in an upright position before grabbing one of the coils of rope and walking back behind the chair, wrapping it tightly around Buffy's chest several times before tying a knot that even a slayer would struggle with. It wasn't long before another rope was wrapped around her, then two more around her legs and one for her hands alone.

Slayer power or none, Buffy wasn't budging from that chair unless she was helped.

Content that she was completely restrained, Faith hopped up onto an old metal barrel and rested her back against the metal wall. She lit another cigarette and put the crushed pack back into the inner pocket of her jacket, tucked safely against the knife she always had hidden there for slayage purposes. It sure was gonna do some slaying tonight!

Letting out a carnal laugh, Faith exhaled the smoke and let her feet dangle from the barrel, her heels clanging noisily against it. She waited for some kind of stirring from Buffy; some sign that the girl was finally waking up. Several minutes passed and the girl didn't move an inch, nor did she make a single sound.

"You may have to wake sleeping beauty up," The Last said from off to the side, causing Faith to tilt her head to the side as she watched the unconscious girl. "But I don't think a kiss is quite as poetic as those lame-ass fairy tales make them out to be. Broaden your horizons. Get creative. Dazzle me, baby. Show me what you've got inside of you."

Faith hopped down from the barrel as if on cue, taking a moment to stretch her back and shoulders. She slowly approached Buffy, nothing of the new and improved Faith left behind the lifeless black eyes. No, this was more a vision of her old self, tying up and torturing a helpless Wesley. There was no one to talk her down from the ledge this time though; no one that could beat the old magic that infected her and made her do its bidding.

Maybe this was her fate, to be a tool for the bad guys. There were always pawns in the battle between good and evil. She just never thought she'd be the striking blow in the battle that would tip the favor for the bad guys.

Squatting down in front of Buffy, Faith looked up at the girl's face, illuminated only by a single light bulb above them. She took in the curves of her face, the softness of her hair; all of the things that used to make her long for the girl. None of it was there anymore though; now she felt only hate and rage and disgust and the need to cause pain in any way she could.

Taking another deep drag from her cigarette, she blew out the smoke – white this time – right into Buffy's face. Buffy's nose crinkled up in distaste but she showed no other signs of waking. Letting her eyes roam from the girls' face down her bound body, Faith finally smiled when she saw a bit of exposed flesh near her midsection. Without warning she took the still lit cigarette and pushed it against Buffy's skin, causing Buffy to quickly stiffen up and her eyes to immediately open.

Buffy's cry of pain – from both the burn and her broken ribs -- was not enough to cover the sizzling sound of burning flesh along with Faith's appreciative laughter.

"That's right, let it out. Always wanted ya to scream for me, B."

Buffy gasped and held her breath, slamming her eyes shut again not only to try to drown out the pain but also because she couldn't bear to look into Faith's black eyes a moment longer. She knew Faith was infected; she knew that much in her last second of consciousness before Faith had knocked her out at the side of the road earlier. And judging by her behavior, Buffy knew that it wasn't something easy like envy or greed she was dealing with here; she was dealing with wrath.

Faith and anger had never led to good things before. Now the girl was dealing with the most pure, intense form of rage and anger that existed. It wasn't anything she could control either; the darkness that infected her was permeating her body and soul, practically dripping out of every pour and fiber of her being.

Only bad things could come from this, Buffy knew. For the first time in as long as she could even remember, she really felt like this was the end, not only for her but for the world at large.

And all this at the hands of the woman she'd finally realized she lo . . .

"Ah!" Buffy suddenly cried out at the feeling of fingers caressing her raw and burned flesh. "Faith, you're hurting me. You have to . . ."

"I have to what?" Faith quickly interrupted, getting dangerously closer to Buffy's face. "Tell me, B, what do I have to do? You've always liked giving orders, haven't you?"

Buffy writhed in personal agony within the confines of the ropes, refusing to give into Faith's game. The worst thing she could do was make Faith enjoy this even more; that would make the girl prolong it even more.

"Well I'm the one giving orders now," Faith continued.

She stood up from her crouched position and reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out the knife she had stashed there. It caught the dim light from the bulb perfectly, casting a flicker of light over Buffy's anxious face.

"You can fight this. I need you to fight this, Faith. Untie me. Please."

Buffy tried to be stern yet pleading at the same time but mostly ended up just sounding terrified. Faith's lips curled up into a smile as she got closer to Buffy again.

"Nuh uh uh. Forgot to say 'Simon Says.'"

Without warning, she wound back and slapped Buffy across the face. There wasn't even a flicker of any kind of humanity left behind her black eyes as Buffy grimaced, then turned her head back to face her again. She waited a moment to make sure that Buffy was done speaking out of turn before finally continuing.

"For my first order, I say we start with something fun," she crooned, bringing the blade dangerously close to Buffy's exposed neck before trailing it lightly down her bound arm. "It's time to bleed for me, princess."

********************

Kennedy was busy chewing away on some kind of beef jerky, barely taking notice of the fact that she was driving more than thirty miles over the speed limit. Vi was in the front of the van with her while the remaining slayers stayed in the partitioned back, mentally preparing for the battle ahead of them. The redhead looked nervously over the steering wheel at the odometer and bit on her lower lip, trying to fight back the severe scolding she knew was dying to pop out.

"Chill out Vi. No way am I driving the speed limit; it's gonna take us long enough to get there as it is," Kennedy said.

As much as Vi was working on being more laid back and cool these days, she let the façade slip away just long enough to express her concern. Someone had to be the reasonable one!

"I realize that much, but if we're pulled over by the police, I highly doubt that they're going to treat us kindly when they realize that we're armed and dangerous and driving without a valid driver's license."

And despite the fact that Kennedy rolled her eyes at Vi's over-cautiousness, she knew that the girl was right. Dammit! She knew she should have gotten her license when they got back to the States! She eased up on the accelerator just a little and they slowed up just enough for Vi to breathe a little bit easier but not enough for her to keep from checking out the side view mirrors every twenty seconds.

A few quiet minutes passed by before Vi finally couldn't take the silence any longer.

"This is a horrible plan. We're not sure where we're going, we're not sure how we can even fight The Last, and I'm pretty sure that I'm wearing someone else's boots."

"That's kinda sick," Kennedy said after a moment, shooting a wary glance down at Vi's feet. "Slayers are extra sweaty. I mean, think about it; your feet could be takin' a swim in Chao-Ahn's toe-sweat."

"Eww," Vi said with a grimace, trying not to move her toes around within the confines of the slightly-too-big boots. "Seriously, we're about to go up against dastardly evil badness and die a painful horrible death and you can't even give me false comfort in my foot apparel?"

Kennedy tried to hide her chuckle by taking another whopping bite out of her beef jerky and chewing it thoroughly. When she was done chewing and sure that she wasn't going to burst out into inappropriate laughter, she decided to offer the girl a bit of comfort.

"I was just messing with ya, Vi. Besides, you know as well as I do that Chao-Ahn's got the cleanest feet of any slayer we know."

Vi thought about it for a moment before sighing with relief and nodding. "You're right."

"Always am," Kennedy said with a smile, her eyes trained on the road. "Besides, bet for a few minutes there you were more worried about toe-eating bacteria than the big bad we're about to get slammed by, right?"

And Vi was biting on her lower lip again, the ball of nerves back in the pit of her stomach. She glanced over at Kennedy and sighed.

"I liked it better when you were creeping me out about Slayer Foot Rot."

"I know, right?"

Silence fell around them again as they continued to speed along through the night, both girls anxiously waiting for the cell phone to ring with some kind of miraculous news on how to beat the baddie and save the day. There wasn't a peep from the back of the van, all of the other slayers dealing with the general feeling of doom that had settled over them when they were woken up by a frantic Giles.

"Do you really think we're going to come out alive on the other side of this battle?" Vi asked, her voice quiet and unsure.

And as much as Kennedy wanted to offer the girl some hope, the truth was that this battle felt like it could indeed be their last. They couldn't physically fight the bad guy and he was going to use Faith against them, no doubt about it.

Just as Kennedy opened her mouth to reply, the cell phone started chirping from its place in the drink holder between them. She quickly reached out for the phone, sending the van veering off into the adjoining lane. The loud honking of a car horn wasn't enough to stop her from quickly hitting the send button and holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder.

"Gimme good news," she said, ignoring the glare Vi was sending her after narrowly avoiding a collision.

"_Sara thinks she knows where you can find them. Do you have the map I gave Vi?"_ Giles asked.

Kennedy hastily snapped her fingers in the direction of the map that was resting across Vi's lap. Vi quickly fumbled with it and handed it over to Kennedy who was busy trying to pull over to the side of the road so she could get a better look at it. When the van was stopped and she had the map in her hands, Kennedy finally replied.

"Got it. Where are we headed?"

She listened to his directions and traced her finger along a highway route until she came across the area he was speaking about. Grabbing a pen from under the visor, she pulled the cap off with her teeth and laid the map against the steering wheel so that she could circle the area. When Giles finished and hung up, she tossed the phone back into the cup holder and stared at the map long and hard with Vi, distress written across both of their faces.

"It's in the middle of nowhere."

"Shit. Faith has Buffy all the way out there and she's infected with wrath. She ain't there to braid her hair; there's only one way this is gonna end."

They shared a look before Vi grabbed the map from Kennedy's arms and nodded toward the road.

"Put the pedal to the metal. We need to get there, _now_."

********************

Faith circled slowly around Buffy, her eyes never leaving the bound girl's form. The ropes had tiny spots of blood over them in several areas now, as did the knife that was gripped tightly in Faith's hand. The only sound in the warehouse beside Faith's boots scraping on the dusty floor was the sound of Buffy's shallow and shaky breaths as she tried to rein in her pain, along with a slow drip of blood that was pooling on the floor.

She couldn't let Faith see how badly she was hurt. She needed to figure out a way to cure Faith before she became a victim of the girl's growing wrath. Despite the fact that Faith seemed to be oblivious to his presence, Buffy could see The Last across the room in the darkness, his shiny black skin glistening in the shadow of the dim light. His red eyes glowed fiercely as he watched Faith cut her again and again, urging her on with gusto.

"You'll never win," Buffy said through clenched teeth, her eyes locked on his shadowy figure.

"I've already won, B," Faith said, unaware that Buffy had been speaking to The Last. "You're cold, helpless, bleeding, in _pain_; and there ain't anyone gonna save you. You're completely alone. What's going through your head?"

Faith took that opportunity to squat down in front of Buffy and look up at the girl, staring at her in wonder like she was trying to read her thoughts. Buffy just looked down at her, trying to calm her shaky breathing. A trickle of blood escaped a gash across her forehead and dripped down over her eyebrow, landing squarely on her bruised cheek.

"I know this isn't you, Faith," she said, trying to keep her voice soft and assuring. "He's filled you with anger and rage because he wants you to destroy me. To destroy _us_."

"Aww, did you think there was an 'us' princess?" Faith asked, the tone of her voice almost as cruel as her smile.

"I know there was; there _is_," Buffy clarified. "We drove out here and I had my arms around you and I could feel your heart, Faith. It was beating like crazy."

"That's what sitting on five hundred pounds of vibrating steel does to a girl," Faith said and winked.

"That kiss," Buffy said, trying to rouse any feeling in Faith that could counter the wrath.

"Always knew you were dyin' for a taste, B," Faith said, creeping a bit closer.

"Maybe I was," Buffy confessed. "Maybe I was here to tell you that I wanted you. And you know what, Faith? I know you want me back. The way we got closer, the kissing . . . all of it. I know you want me, too."

She didn't expect her words to work, but she also hadn't expected the outright laughter she got from Faith in response. Suddenly Faith was right in her face, her eyes looking even more horrifying up close and personal.

"You want the truth? How about this: Just a few weeks ago I was gettin' a lap dance from Camryn and it was one of the fuckin hottest things in my life. You think you're the only one that gets me hot? That a little pussy from Buffy-fuckin-Summers is gonna make me all smitten? Keep dreamin', cupcake. Woulda fucked her too if your bestie hadn't showed up and ruined my fun."

Buffy clenched her jaw tightly, fighting back the tears Faith's words were nearly making fall.

"You love me," Buffy said, steeling herself.

"Love?" Faith asked, searching Buffy's face. "No such animal."

Without warning she leaned in the last bit between them and ran her tongue up Buffy's cheek where another drop of blood had fallen moments before. Buffy grimaced but couldn't pull away. She wished she could lift her hands and cover her ears to block out The Last's laughing, and she wished she could cover her eyes and block out the sight of Faith across the room. The girl had suddenly flown into a rage and was busy kicking and punching old wooden crates to smithereens, screaming out the entire time.

Closing her eyes, Buffy tried to drown out the sight, the noise, and her pain. She was a slayer; not some damsel in distress that needed saving every Tuesday. She would get out of this situation; she would save Faith.

She just needed to figure out how.

********************

Giles hung up the phone and took a deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts. The news he'd just received was a bit shocking to say the very least.

"That was Angel," he explained to Dawn and Sara. "They've been researching the packages that both Spike and Anya received. While we both originally believed that the packages were from the Powers That Be – a gift of some sort for serving them – Angel has discovered that they had nothing to do with it."

"Well if they didn't, who did?" Dawn asked, confused. "It's not like anyone could actually benefit from Spike and Anya becoming corporeal."

Giles glanced over at her, the look on his face letting her know that she was obviously wrong.

"Or I'm wrong and you should explain it to me," Dawn corrected.

"The Last could benefit. He has, in fact. He used one of his earthly connections, a follower of some kind, to effectively sever our link to the Powers That Be. Without their help, we had no warning that he was making his final move."

"We did, actually, but I ignored it," Sara said guiltily.

"You couldn't have known," Giles tried to assure her.

"But I should have. My visions; they're rarely wrong. I think I was hoping so badly that were this time that I let it cloud my judgment. It's all conflicting though. The visions have changed again and again from the time I first met Faith. The actions she's taken along her journey have changed her fate. She's changed fate for all of us."

"And what do you see now?" Giles asked, hoping for some positive sign. Just one tiny little pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel.

"Blackness," Sara said with a shrug. "She's infected. It's all black. I can't see Faith anymore; only the darkness inside of her."

"Before tonight, before these last few weeks; back when you first met Faith, what did you see then?" he asked, seemingly onto something.

Sara thought about it for a moment, trying to separate the inter-lapping visions she'd had over the months between. It was very difficult for her and something she was learning to do, but she hadn't yet perfected that craft. They needed more time but they just weren't going to get it.

"She saved us. There was no darkness in her, and she was able to beat him. I didn't see how; I only know that she was okay. We were all okay."

Silence fell over them as they took in that information; the glimmer of hope that they'd been looking for all along. It was far-fetched, of course. There was no one around to try to cure Faith except for Buffy and despite her efforts, Sara couldn't get a read on the girl to even know if she was okay or not.

"If we can find a way to get the wrath out of Faith, she might be able to fight him. I'm not sure how, but if you've seen it . . ." Giles trailed off, his mind working a mile a minute as he poured over the details again and again. "When I spoke with Andrew earlier, he said they'd been offered advice; a way that they might combat the seven deadly sins and defeat The Last."

"The seven heavenly virtues," Sara offered without having to be told. At Giles and Dawn's impressed looks, she explained, "Those seven years of Sunday school seem to have paid off. My mom will be thrilled."

"It's the universal balance; for every evil there is good, dark there is light, yin there is yang," Giles interrupted. "If Buffy's there with her, she may be able to help even if she's incapacitated. It wouldn't require a physical battle; it would merely entail the strength of her will."

"But how?" Sara asked. "Buffy's strong sense of justice and courage can't be enough to combat a power as strong as The Last."

Silence once again descended over them until Dawn cleared her throat nervously and looked up at both Sara and Giles looking suddenly shy.

"If I know my sister, she didn't go to Las Vegas because of courage or justice. What drove her there is the strongest emotion in any one of us; the strongest thing Buffy's ever felt despite the fact that she hasn't been able to admit it yet."

Giles drew in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled as he locked his gaze with Dawn's over the table. If there was one thing he knew about Buffy, it was that her strength had always come from her heart.

Suddenly he realized why Buffy had suddenly up and run off to Las Vegas. It had been clear for a while now yet he hadn't seen it until it was made glaringly obvious.

"Love."

********************

The club was packed just like most other nights, though having a big convention in town always seemed to draw in more of a crowd. Camryn was happy to be running drinks tonight, her mind on too many other things for her to focus on dancing and her customers.

She squeezed her way in-between the customers and tables, doing her damnedest not to provoke any of the patrons into an unsolicited grope-fest as she passed them by. She had nearly made it back to the bar without being groped when she felt a warm hand gripping around her wrist. Spinning around to face her groper, she was about to unleash a tirade about the sanctity of personal space when she realized she recognized something about the person before her.

Tilting her head to the side, she let a small smile creep up on her lips. The body was different – much different – from the last time they'd run into one another, but she was able to read who the person was on the inside without any hassle whatsoever.

"Nice look," she said, leaning in to give the man a warm hug.

"Really? I've been thinking about trading it in," Jil'hanesh answered and smiled despite himself.

"Ah. Does that mean you'll be joining us again? I'm pretty sure management is looking for a few more girls . . ."

"That's not why I'm here," he said, the smile on his face instantly falling.

Right away Camryn knew that the situation had to be bad, really bad, if he'd come back to Las Vegas. After helping Faith out the first time, even vaguely, he'd been in a quasi state of hiding, hoping not to draw the wrath of the Powers That be for interfering. He still contended that he hadn't tipped any scales too dramatically; he really just wanted to see the human race succeed.

How could he help being attached after all his time spent living among them?

"Then it must be bad," Camryn said, stepping closer to him so that none of the other patrons heard them speaking.

"The shit has hit the proverbial fan, _angelito._ We've done what we can. You've helped me as you said you would, and for that I am forever grateful. It's time I hold up my end of the bargain and get you out of here."

Camryn could only stare at him as the reality of the situation hit home. If he was going to take her with him, it could only mean . . .

"He has Faith," she mumbled.

"And the other slayer too. Buffy."

"Can we do anything?"

Jil'hanesh looked miserable as he shook his head no.

"Fate is written; no physical act we or anyone else may try can alter it. It's time that we think about protecting ourselves now."

And as sweet as the offer had once sounded, Camryn knew that she couldn't just abandon ship. Faith was her friend. She saw something in the girl that she'd never seen in anyone else before, not to mention her strong will to survive. If she just up and left with Jil'hanesh, it proved her lack of faith. She couldn't let that happen. Maybe fate was written but she had a strong feeling that Faith – and Buffy – weren't just going to sit back and die. If the will to survive was strong in Faith, it had been even stronger in Buffy when she'd met the girl.

Sure she might not know them incredibly well, but she could tell one thing right away: they were going to fight. The battle for the world would not be one-sided.

And she had the very distinct feeling, despite the ominous warnings, that they were going to win.

"I can't go," she said suddenly, her eyes meeting his again. "I wish I could, but I have to be here. I have to have faith in something because if I don't . . . it'll all fall apart."

Jil'hanesh just looked at her silently, mulling over her words. He might not be human but he understood her plight. It wasn't his place to stay here; this wasn't his Earth, these weren't his people. Yet the thought of abandoning the people and Earth he'd come to cherish made him re-think his escape plan.

Screw the Powers That Be and their personal escape clauses. If this world imploded with him on it, he'd simply be reborn elsewhere. Until then, he was going to stay on this sinking ship and see just how able its crew was to save it.

Sighing deeply, he held out his arm to clear the way for her toward the bar.

"We'll need some drinks. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

********************

Kennedy and Vi squinted into the darkness as they stood just outside the van, looking at what could be some kind of storage facility in the middle of the desert. There had been nothing around for what felt like miles and this was the spot Giles had told them to go to so it had to be the place.

"Is your spidey-sense tingling?" Kennedy asked.

"No but my right foot is still asleep." At Kennedy's raised eyebrow, Vi explained, "Long drive, poor circulation."

They continued to stare at the service shack, looking for any sign that it was brimming with mystical badness. Walking on over and peeking their heads in definitely seemed the smarter thing to do but they couldn't be sure that it wasn't some kind of trap.

"So what's the plan?" Vi asked, taking a sideways glance at Kennedy.

Had it not been for their slayer hearing they probably would've missed it but the distinct sound of a girl – Buffy – crying out in pain rang out through the night then. Vi had her hand on the handle to the back door of the van within seconds and was about to unleash their slayer army when she felt a soft hand on forearm. Confused, she looked over at Kennedy expectantly.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Stopping you from getting all those girls killed," Kennedy explained. "Fact of the matter is that runnin' in there with weapons blazing is a completely shitty plan. Buffy's better than the thirteen of us combined and she was no match for the magic. Pretty sure that even if we go in there with the best of intentions, we're gonna be dead before she is."

"If you knew you were going to drag us all the way here from Los Angeles just to chicken out, why did we bother making the trip?" Vi asked angrily.

"No ones chickening out. We're just improvising a little."

"How so?"

"Listen, whether we send just one or all thirteen of us in there, it ain't gonna be pretty. If all thirteen of us go down at once, there's no one around to try to stop all this once it gets beyond that shed if the opportunity comes up."

"So what are we going to do?" Vi asked warily.

She certainly wasn't expecting it when Kennedy took her hand and placed the keys to the van in them.

"Take the girls and get into the city. If this bleeds out into the streets, we're gonna need to keep what little bit of order we can. Not sure if it's gonna end in a big boom or like a wave so being ready for both cases is the best we can do right now."

"And what are you supposed to do here?"

"I'm gonna see if I can get in there and get Buffy out. If there's any chance of saving Faith I'll take it but judging by the screaming we heard a minute ago I'm gonna guess that she's too far gone," Kennedy said sadly.

"Well we can wait here for you . . ." Vi began but Kennedy cut her off.

"That's a waste of resources. Get your team into the city and get ready to fight."

"But what are you going to do if you rescue Buffy? You can't just hide out behind a cactus or hitch a ride on a lizard."

Vi was beginning to panic and Kennedy realized that she needed to stop the girl before it impeded her ability to get herself and the other slayers out of there.

"See that car down there?" Kennedy asked, pointing out into the darkness. Vi squinted as she searched for it and nodded when she finally spotted the vehicle. "Willing to bet money on the fact that it's how Faith got them out here."

"And you really think she's just going to hand you the keys and let you rescue her hostage?" Vi asked incredulously.

"Not exactly. Growing up privileged doesn't mean I'm not street-wise. I can have that thing hot-wired in thirty seconds. The longer we wait around here arguin' about it though, the more likely it is that I'm driving outta here alone."

Kennedy held Vi's gaze in the moonlight until the girl took a deep breath and nodded, tightening her grip around the keys. Without another word, Vi made her way around the other side of the van and hopped up in the driver's seat. She put on her seat belt and started the van before offering Kennedy one last chance to hop in with them.

"Good luck?" she said.

Kennedy nodded and smiled wryly, "Gonna need it."

She stood there and watched the van pull away and made sure it was a safe distance before heading toward the service shack. She made a conscientious effort to walk quietly, not letting the heels of her boots scrape on the bumpy terrain. There was no more screaming from the shack but she heard the unmistakable sound of someone beating on something in there.

Taking a cautious walk around the small building to scope it out before entering, Kennedy finally approached a partially opened metal door and peeked inside, careful to remain hidden in the shadows.

What she saw nearly took her break away.

Buffy was tied up to a chair in the center of the room, broken, bloody, and barely conscious. She wasn't sure what Faith had done to her but it seemed like the torture session was in a lull now. Faith was pulverizing a wooden crate into a hundred pieces, letting it join the thousands that were already on the floor. There was a faint trail of black smoke lingering around her, almost like her body could no longer contain the wrath that was building inside of her.

Glancing even further into the room, Kennedy noticed what Buffy's eyes were trained on: The Last was standing there with his hand over his amulet, seemingly humming from the power within it and coming off of Faith who he was watching intently. By the time she looked back at Buffy, she noticed that the girl was looking over at her, finding her eyes through the impossible darkness of the slightly opened door.

Buffy's eyes were wide and she was very gently shaking her head 'no' but that wasn't about to stop Kennedy from at least trying to free her. Dying now or in an hour didn't matter, so long as she could say she tried.

Using all of the stealth that she could muster, Kennedy slipped inside the door and into the shadows against the wall, hoping that her entrance had gone unnoticed. When neither The Last nor Faith seemed to flinch, she crept slowly toward the center of the room, barely even breathing.

Buffy's breathing was quick and uneven as Kennedy slipped her fingertips under the ropes on her chest, trying unsuccessfully to slip them down or loosen them even the slightest bit. She learned the hard way that Buffy was injured under the ropes by the almost unnoticeable squeak of pain that Buffy let out

Almost unnoticeable.

Suddenly the frantic smashing of crates halted and Kennedy looked over to find Faith's black eyes staring at her. Kennedy's first instinct was to retreat; to get the hell out of there and as far away as possible,

Her feet wouldn't move though, and instead she blindly tugged on the ropes binding Buffy's hands, one last ditch effort to free the girl. She was so busy keeping her focus on Faith that she didn't see the trail of black smoke headed for her, coiling around her legs and torso and finally entering her through her nose and mouth.

She stumbled at first and was just about to topple over when she suddenly stood straight and looked around the room lazily. The Last merely watched with amusement as the girl found a nice cuddly corner of the room and curled up nice and cozy on the floor.

Ah, sloth. It was one of his favorite sins.

"A team of slayers and witches at their disposal and _that's _who the Scooby Team sends?" Faith taunted as she approached Buffy once again, her knuckles bleeding from the abuse she let loose on the crates. "Gotta say, B; really looks like you slipped down a couple rungs on the ladder of importance since retiring."

Buffy remained quiet as Faith lazily picked wooden splinters from her knuckles. Kennedy had been _right there_ and she was still no better off now than she had been before her arrival. The bindings on her hands were a bit looser now though, and maybe if she could just . . .

"How does it feel to know that your friends aren't coming for you this time, B?" Faith asked as she slowly circled Buffy, letting the tip of her knife scrape over the ropes as she went.

She didn't notice the way Buffy was moving and stretching her hands, getting the ropes looser and looser with every second that passed by.

"It makes me feel happy. At least I know they're safe."

Faith chuckled and let the blade slip between the ropes for a fleeting moment to slice another angry red line into Buffy's flesh.

"You really think a couple hundred miles is gonna save your pals?" Faith asked. Suddenly she was straddling Buffy's lap, staring right into her eyes. "Remember what The First did to Sunnydale? This is gonna make that look like some kid kicking over an anthill in comparison."

"Don't even bring up that sissy," The Last said angrily as he stepped further into the light. Faith didn't react to his words but Buffy looked over at him from the corner of her eyes. "The whole entire demon population was talking about how close he came to finishing off the place but no one seems to remember how often he fails. Do you know what they fail to acknowledge every time?"

Buffy didn't answer but merely continued to look up at him as he got closer and closer.

"I never fail," he said, his smile incandescent as he held out his arms proudly. "You can't beat me; no one can. I'm the evil that's present inside every man woman and child. There's no getting rid of me unless you wipe yourselves out too."

"So why don't you leave us to our vices then?" Buffy asked. "Humans are self-destructive; give us two-hundred years and we'll do the job ourselves."

The Last laughed at that and turned his back on them as he walked back toward the shadows, caressing his amulet once again.

"Because I like your power. All of that dark energy in each and every one of you . . . I could just eat it up with a spoon, darling. Do you know what my sin is? Greed. I want all of that energy." He turned around and faced them then, his eyes meeting Buffy's once again. "And it's about time I collect. Faith? Show her what you're made of, baby."

Buffy quickly looked back at Faith and could practically feel the wrath coming off of her in waves. This was it; the end. It was her very last chance to stop this. She had to think fast.

"D-do you remember that time in Sunnydale, when you came back and took the girls out to The Bronze?" she began quickly, her voice stuttery as she tried to arrange her thoughts. When Faith didn't react, she swiftly continued. "I was mad that you took them out, sure, but I was even more upset that you hadn't asked me to go."

"Always needed to be the center of attention, didn't ya?" Faith asked angrily, letting the knife dance along the ropes again.

Buffy ignored the way Faith was trying to bait her and continued on.

"You came back, and even after everything you'd been through, you grew into a fun and good and better person than I ever thought possible. I was envious, and jealous, and I wanted so badly for you to need me like you did when we were younger."

"Always about you, ain't it princess?" Faith asked, letting the knife slip shallowly into Buffy's shoulder.

Buffy gasped loudly but fought back the pain so that she could continue again.

"You got hurt and we finally talked – finally came to some kind of an understanding – and I watched over you when you slept that night. You didn't know I did but I was there, and I watched you, and I was amazed at the person you'd become. And then when I came to Las Vegas, you kept on amazing me again and again. You had this life that I never thought I wanted again, but you made me want it. You made me want _you_, Faith. I wanted to be here with you, and I wanted you to look at me the way you used to; the way I was starting to look at _you._ I needed you, and I wanted you to need me."

"Needed you like I needed another hole in my head," Faith practically snarled, black smoke starting to swirl gently around her.

"I envied you. I wanted you, the life you have here. I was feeding The Last without him ever having to infect me."

"He certainly did infect you though, didn't he," Faith asked and looked Buffy up and down, not noticing that her hands were mostly untied now. "Fucked like bunnies for the better part of a day. Nothin' like a bit of lust to get your motor running."

"I didn't need to be infected to feel that, Faith. Even when Dawn saved us, I looked up at you and I didn't want you to stop. And later that night when it was just the two of us, I wanted you again."

"Once you pop, you can't stop? Isn't that right?" Faith asked, pumping her hips forward just once for emphasis.

Her lewdness wasn't lost on Buffy but there was no way Buffy was going to let it thwart her now. She was still alive, which had to mean she was doing something right. Taking a chance, she shook her right hand free from the now loose rope and sneakily took Faith's free hand in hers. The Last hadn't seen the small action because Faith's body had been blocking it but Faith certainly took notice and looked down at their joined hands with confusion on her face.

"No, I can't stop," Buffy said quietly, her eyes pleading with Faith's. "I want you, Faith. I want to make up for all the time we spent fighting. You made me see the real you, and once I did, I . . ."

Buffy suddenly gasped and looked down to see the knife in Faith's hand, now wedged firmly between the ropes and into the side of her abdomen. The pain was white hot but not as painful as the realization that she was going to die without Faith knowing exactly what she meant to her. She slammed her eyes shut and took a few shaky breaths, unable to stop the tears that spilled down her cheeks and over her lips.

When she opened them, Faith was staring at her intently, nothing but a void behind her black eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" The Last asked. "Finish her off!"

Using the last of her strength, Buffy slipped her hand from around Faith's and raised it up to the girl's face, cupping it softly.

"I love you," she said with a shuddery breath.

Before Faith realized what was happening, Buffy surged forward the few inches between them and pressed their lips together, kissing her ever so softly.

One last kiss before oblivion.

A fire grew in Faith's heart that quickly spread throughout the rest of her body. She suddenly flew off of Buffy's lap and across the room, crashing into a wall and sliding down it like a ragdoll. Black smoke poured out of her and began to swirl around the room like a tornado, picking up all kinds of debris and tossing it dangerously around.

She was dazed for a few moments but when she came to she shook her head and looked around trying to figure out what was real and what was a dream. Kennedy was laying across the room and The Last was shouting and screaming all kinds of nonsense at her, but then she saw Buffy in the middle of the room with a panicked look on her face.

"Faith!" Buffy yelled, in her own personal agony that she couldn't check that the girl was okay or not.

"B?" Faith began, confused, then took in the girl's injured state. "Oh shit, Buffy!"

She was quickly on her feet and running towards Buffy, ignoring the shards of wood that cut and sliced her skin as she passed through the tornado of black smoke. Her hands were pulling at the ropes and trying to free the girl and she was vaguely aware that she was being spoken to but she couldn't get past her own inner-panic that she'd done that to Buffy.

"Listen to me!" Buffy yelled, finally getting the girl's attention. "He's absorbing the energy."

Faith looked over and saw The Last standing with his arms spread and his eyes closed, a pleasure-filled smile on his face as the black smoke from the tornado began to pour into the glowing amulet embedded in his chest.

"He's vulnerable, Faith!" Buffy shouted, her voice barely audible of the sound of the whipping wind. "Faith, now!"

Without another word, Faith suddenly charged at The Last as the last remnants of black smoke swirled around her and tried to get back to the amulet. She was a slayer though; inherently fast and strong and _better_ than whatever the fuck the smoke was. She jumped and flew through the air with her feet out and directed right at The Last's chest. He opened his eyes a split-second before her boots hit the amulet with a sickening crunch, shoving the now broken jewel even deeper within his chest cavity.

Both the momentum from the kick and the explosive pressure of black smoke leaving the amulet in a whirlwind sent him flying backwards into a heap of wooden crates. He was pinned there as the smoke swirled out of him and into the room, creating a raging storm within the confines of the metal-walled building. The pressure was too much and the roof and all four walls blew off with no warning, leaving them all exposed to the night air.

The black smoke quickly dissipated in the desert blackness, free at last. The dust and debris began to settle, leaving Buffy, Faith, and a now non-infected Kennedy coughing while The Last spluttered in horror. He tried to stand but felt weakened by his lack of power and fell back to the crates in a rage.

"Now you're in trouble, you _bitch,_" he growled at Faith, his red eyes glowing menacingly as he continued into another tirade about how big and bad he was, yada yada yada.

His power was gone though, vanished out into the night. Black blood dripped from his chest where the amulet was embedded, sharp shards still sticking out of the hole.

He was just another bad guy now.

Faith looked over at him and then down at her feet as some debris – a torn up piece of the metal wall – landed at her feet. She casually bent down and picked it up, then wound back at tossed it like a Frisbee over at The Last.

His words were cut off mid-sentence . . . along with his head. His body slouched down and his head rolled down the crates and onto the floor, landing at Faith's feet.

She looked at it only for a moment or two before an angry look crossed her face. She quickly lifted her foot and brought it down hard, pulverizing the head under her boot. Several moments passed by as she looked down at what had been his head, recalling everything that he'd put her through over the months. He was gone now but the scars remained.

A noise behind her jarred Faith and she quickly spun around to see Kennedy standing at Buffy's side, untying the remaining ropes around the girl. Buffy was looking up at her warily, trying to gauge what was going on behind her brown eyes.

"Faith?" she asked quietly as she tried to stand. She hissed in pain though, obviously too injured to stand on her own just yet.

Kennedy quickly ducked under Buffy's arm and helped her up while Faith just watched with a look of pure horror on her face.

"Faith . . ." Buffy tried again but was cut off by Faith this time.

"Don't, B. Just . . . don't."

********************

The atmosphere back at Faith's place was positively jubilant as everyone gathered there to celebrate. Anya and Xander had made it back to Las Vegas just an hour before having jumped right on a return flight as soon as they'd landed and received the dozens of messages Dawn and Sara had left them.

Anya was completely shattered that she'd missed the excitement and even more so that she'd never really gotten the chance to help out as her time as a liaison to the Powers That Be. There was pouting and a bit of moping, but when she felt Xander pull her into his arms and hug her tightly, she knew that being here on Earth with him was exactly where she'd belonged the whole time.

Andrew, of course, was completely guilt-ridden and making snacks and appetizers aplenty to make up for his lack of involvement in saving the day. When they'd found him in the lower carnival level of Excalibur, he was playing skeeball completely oblivious to the fact that he had nearly thirty messages and texts waiting for him. He'd been cooking and serving since the moment they returned, anxious to be helpful even after the fact.

And hey, his talents sure were appreciated. He had thirteen slayers to feed and a handful of other guests who were sitting around now wherever they could find room as they listened to Kennedy tell the tale of what had happened.

"So I'm sneaking across the room, right? And Faith is off in the back havin' a spazz attack and unleashing on these old wooden crates while The Last was totally creepin' on her. I got over to Buffy and she was all shaking her head no and trying to make me leave but no way could I just run out of there. So I'm playing tug-o-war with the ropes and losing when my finger hits something squishy under them and I realize I'm fingering up one of her wounds."

"Oh sick."

"Gross."

"Yeah, totally," Kennedy continued. "B let's out this little yelp and I look up and Faith is looking at me like I'm a sandwich and she hasn't eaten in a week. I was stuck there; like my legs weren't workin' with me to get the hell outta dodge. So I just start pulling at the ropes again and I was freaking out too much to notice that The Last let out some of the toxic gas."

"It was black smoke, not toxic gas," Anya interrupted. "If you want toxic gas, you should have tried having sex in the airplane bathroom like Xander and I did after the man who'd been eating burritos in the airport used it before us."

The room went deadly quiet as all gazes moved from her to Xander. He could only sit there with wide eyes for a moment before squeezing Anya's hand a little and smiling. He couldn't be embarrassed; he was too damned happy that he had her back to be embarrassed of her!

"Anyway," Kennedy continued, "the fucker zapped me with sloth again and all I wanted to do was lay down and do absolutely nothing."

"That doesn't sound like you and your lazy ass at all," Rona piped up, earning a glare from Kennedy and a laugh from all of the other slayers around them.

"What happened next?" Anya asked, then looked over at Xander. "This is so exciting!"

"Faith started doing the whole possessed by darkness thing; yunno taunting Buffy and trying to hurt her and stuff. And I think that Buffy knew that it was the end cos she just went into this whole speech thing."

"What did she say?" Anya asked excitedly.

Kennedy smiled and looked down at her lap, remembering the things Buffy had said to Faith to bring her down from the edge. It had been personal, and thinking back on it she felt kind of bad for having been there when those words were finally spoken, but she was happy for hearing them anyhow. Maybe after all these years, Buffy and Faith could finally have the happiness they deserved – together.

"Just a bunch of stuff," Kennedy said and shrugged. When everyone booed and began to throw popcorn at her for being so vague, she quickly stood and batted it away while laughing. "Hey, hey . . . it's not my business, and it's not your business either. You want that part of the story, you've gotta go straight to the sources."

And with both Buffy and Faith noticeably absent from the festivities, no one was going to nag her about that much longer. They wanted to know how it ended!

"Come on, get to the good part!" Anya encouraged her.

"Fine, fine," Kennedy said, taking her seat on the arm of the sofa again. "So Faith gets knocked back and there's smoke pouring outta her like crazy, and it starts swirling around like some kind of tornado. It took her a second to come to but when she did, she realized what was going on. She went to help Buffy but that's when she realized that The Last was absorbing the power and that he was vulnerable. A well-placed flying kick later and The Lasts' amulet was in pieces in his chest. The black tornado was back and the walls blew out all crazy and then BAM: Invincible bad guy was just a good old-fashioned bad guy again."

"So what happened then?" Anya asked, sitting on the edge of her seat. "Faith pummeled him into oblivion? Punched his face in? Kicked his butt seven ways to Sunday?"

Kennedy kinda chuckled and answered, "'fraid not, Ahn. There was this piece of jagged metal that just happened to be nearby. One toss later and The Last was no more. Kinda lost his head over it."

The slayers all hooted and hollered while Anya flomped back and looked mildly disappointed.

"Well that was rather anti-climactic," she said. "I wanted bloodshed and gore. Is it wrong to expect more violence?"

"I, for one, am just glad it's all over," Xander said happily. "Maybe we can all get back to some kind of a semblance of a normal life now." And suddenly he was covered in popcorn as everyone booed and laughed at him. "Was it something I said?"

"You jinxed it," Anya said, picking popcorn from his hair. "It's a good thing you're so handsome and well-endowed or I might have a hard time forgiving you."

There was a resounding groan throughout the room echoed by everyone but Xander who was just smiling proudly.

"But when do we get to find out what Buffy said to fix Faith?" Rona asked. "And where is Buffy anyhow?"

Kennedy's smile faltered and eventually fell as she looked down at her lap again.

"She checked into a hotel. Think she just needed some time to be alone. So much happened; I guess it's just a lot to take in. A little bit of quiet, a little bit of time; I'm sure she'll be back to her normal self soon."

"What about Faith?" Xander asked, looking intently at Kennedy.

The girl finally looked up and met his gaze, a knowing look passing between them. They both knew Faith, and they both knew that she was going to be beating herself up over this.

"Hopefully she'll be okay too."

********************

****(Suggested listening: Flames by VAST)****

Buffy stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking over the angry cuts and bruises that marred her body. They were in various states of healing and would be completely gone within a week, but just looking at them now filled her with something that she couldn't put her finger on. Just stripping down had been a chore and had taken longer than it should have, but she needed to get out of those bloody clothes and into a hot shower.

Kennedy was right; Buffy probably did need a visit to the hospital for a couple of stitches but that was the last place she wanted to be right now. She needed to be here, in the hotel, far away from doctors and young slayers that were just dying to ask her a million questions. That could come later. Right now, she just needed _this_.

She pulled back the glass door and turned on the water in the shower, adjusting it to the perfect temperature before stepping in and under the warm spray. The water ran over her scarred body and down to the floor where it swirled in shades of red and pink, evidence of her injuries. She turned around and tucked her chin against her chest, then closed her eyes and let the water beat on her back. She stayed like that for several minutes until she opened her eyes and looked down, noticing that the water was running clear.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and grabbed a wash cloth, holding it under the water until it was thoroughly soaked. Hotel soap wasn't exactly nice but it would do the job. She grabbed it and placed it within the wash cloth, then gently rubbed it back and forth until the cloth was full of sudsy bubbles. She hadn't even had a chance to finish putting the soap back on the ledge when she felt someone step in the shower behind her and close the door quickly so that none of the water could drench the floor.

There was a tense silence before she felt two hands running gently down her arms, careful to avoid her injuries. The hands traveled all the way down to her fingertips where she was still holding the sudsy cloth.

Ever so carefully, the hands took the cloth and began to softly run it over her abdomen, over her chest and shoulders, then down her arms again.

Buffy couldn't take the silence any longer, though, and quickly turned around to come face to face with Faith who was still having a hard time meeting her gaze.

Faith's eyes darkened when she saw the full extent of Buffy's injuries up close and personal. She began to pull her hands away, horrified at having been the one to inflict the damage, but Buffy didn't let her go far. The blonde took Faith's hands in hers and wrapped them behind her so that Faith was holding her.

Faith was still looking down, avoiding Buffy's eyes, but Buffy brought her hand under Faith's chin and made her look up, finally sharing a gaze with the girl. Faith looked absolutely miserable and guilt-ridden. Her eyes were wet with tears that she was too stubborn to let fall.

"B . . ." she began, but Buffy's finger on her lips stopped her from going on.

"It wasn't you," Buffy said quietly.

"How do you know that? How can you be here with me right now after everything . . .?"

"Because this is you, Faith," Buffy interrupted, letting her hand rest over Faith's heart. Then she grabbed one of Faith's hands and held it over her heart, too. "This is us. And if you're guilt-ridden forever, we're never going to be able to get past this."

"I'm so sorry," Faith uttered, her voice barely audible. She couldn't help herself any longer and suddenly pulled Buffy into her embrace, just holding the girl under the warm spray.

Buffy ran her hands down Faith's hair and over her back again and again, trying to soothe her. She heard Faith sniffle a few times before she rested her head on Buffy's shoulder and took in several deep breaths, then let her lips graze gently over her neck in the softest of kisses.

Buffy closed her eyes and felt her heart immediately begin to beat a little faster, a little harder. Faith was kissing her neck so slowly, so softly, and she felt like she just might melt into a big puddle of goo on the shower floor.

She didn't though; Faith held her tight and didn't let her go anywhere. Faith's lips eventually made their way up over Buffy's jaw, to the corner of her mouth, and finally to her lips where they were met with equally gentle kisses.

Buffy felt water spilling on her cheeks and she knew that it wasn't from the shower. She smiled to herself, so happy that they were finally here; that this was really, finally happening.

It had been a long, strange, and often difficult journey, but they'd finally reached their destination. It could only get better from here.

She felt Faith rest her forehead against hers and then heard the words whispered that she wasn't sure she'd ever hear:

"I love you, Buffy."

Buffy hugged Faith a little tighter, injuries be damned, and couldn't fight the huge smile that appeared on her face.

"I love you, too."

********************

_Jil'hanesh walked along through the ether with his new friend, a big smile on his face as he looked down on the scene before them._

"_Are you sure it's safe for them to be doing that? I mean, hello . . . slayer constitution and all, but still, they're both pretty gruesome and injured. And for the record, don't you feel like a bit of a creeper watching them do that?"_

_Jil'hanesh watched only for a moment longer as Faith lay above Buffy on the hotel bed, moving gently over her lover. The girls couldn't seem to stop kissing for a moment and the love pouring from them could be felt even from a half a world away._

"_They wouldn't be doing that if they couldn't. And it's only creeping if you get off on it," he answered easily._

"_Oh." There was a short pause before the girl replied, "Well, Cordelia Chase may be a lot of things – including dead – but she certainly doesn't get off on lesbian pseudo-porn."_

"_Then neither of us are creepers. The angels sing, the heavens rejoice."_

"_Yeah, yeah," Cordelia said dismissively. She looked at the heavens around them before continuing, "It's pretty nice up here."_

"_Yeah, but it's even nicer down there."_

"_That's very true," Cordelia said somewhat sadly. "But knowing that they're all okay; that we can look down on them and keep them safe; I guess it's an OK deal."_

"_Sometimes it is," he answered vaguely. "But when you're like me . . . when you can travel to and from, and you know the darkness that lies ahead; sometimes it can all be a bit much."_

"_Maybe you just need a vacation," Cordelia suggested, earning a playful glare from Jil'hanesh. _

"_The world is a dark place, Cordelia. People fight to see the good, but one day they're going to wake up and see that the darkness is winning. That it's on its way now and that they are powerless against it."_

"_Blah blah blah. Are you always this pessimistic?"_

_Jil'hanesh merely chuckled, his eyes focused on the vision before them again. Suddenly he became very serious, his eyes never leaving Faith's form._

"_Maybe I should tell her."_

"_No, you can't do that," Cordelia said, shaking her head._

"_Maybe if she knew; if they all knew. Maybe they could prepare."_

"_They have to figure it out on their own. The Powers That Be have already threatened to anchor you if you interfere again."_

"_They can use the heads up. Life can be tough."_

"_Yeah, but people are tougher."_

_And Cordelia was right. When faced with certain doom, people always seemed to come through. It was one of the resounding qualities about humans that he just loved so much._

"_Maybe you're right."_

"_Of course I am. I'm Queen C, and the buck stops with me."_

_Jil'hanesh chuckled again and finally looked away from the vision and met Cordelia's gaze._

"_Are you sure I can't just give them a little warning? I can be there and back before anyone knows . . ."_

"_Oh no you don't, Bub!" Cordelia said and grabbed his arm, dragging him off toward the sunset. "You let them have this time; they deserve it."_

"_I'm sure they wouldn't mind . . ."_

"_Keep walking!"_

_Their voices faded as they walked along, leaving only the opened vision behind them. Faith and Buffy were wrapped around one another, staring into one another's eyes and smiling softly._

Cordelia was right; people were tough. Buffy and Faith were evident of that much. Five years of ups and downs and here they were, finally together.

And only together could they fight the coming storm.

**~The End~**

**________________________________________________________________________**

"Out of the night that covers me,  
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,  
I thank whatever gods may be  
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance  
I have not winced nor cried aloud.  
Under the bludgeonings of chance  
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears  
Looms but the Horror of the shade,  
And yet the menace of the years  
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,  
How charged with punishments the scroll.  
I am the master of my fate:  
I am the captain of my soul."

--_Invictus_ by William Ernest Henley


End file.
